The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner
by lunastars
Summary: A look at Brian's life before, during and after the the films. Each chapter repersents a different age and event in Brian's life. - Rated M for certian chapters but generally rated K-M (more information inside)
1. Aged 3

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
**Aged 3.

* * *

**Important Author Note: **_Hello there! Each chapter of this will be Brian at a different age (before, during and after the films). Some of the ages will have small jumps between them and some will have bigger jumps. It will have some things that are the same as in the films but I've changed certain things to fit in with my story and to make it different. Also the chapters will vary in length. Each chapter will have the age of Brian at the top under the title and the chapter will also be named after the age._

* * *

Brian was sat comfortably on his mother's bed, two cars in his hands. One was a police car and the other was a red convertible. He was pushing the red car along while his other hand pushed the police car behind it. He didn't make any noise but in his head he was making the noises of the cars and the police shouting for the red car to stop. Like any three year old he wanted to be loud and make the siren noises but he knew that was bad. His Mum wasn't feeling well and had to get ready for the day, plus if his Dad came back and heard him being loud that would be bad. Even for someone as young as him he understood.

Brian's mum Lisa was at her vanity mirror. She was already showered and dressed and was trying to put her hair up. She wore her waitress outfit for the diner she worked at, and she didn't bother with too much make-up. She could never win with it. If she wore too much of it her husband told her she looked like a whore but if she didn't wear it then he said she looked ugly. So she settled for a very subtle look that she had mastered over the last couple of years. She was watching Brian in the mirror as she pinned her hair into a bun.

Suddenly there were loud noises from the living room. It sounded like things were falling over. She swore under her breath and rushed out of the room to see what it was. She was faced with her husband heading for the kitchen looking for a beer no doubt. He hadn't been home in two days so she stalked forward, demanding to know where he had been.

Back in the room Brian had continued to play with his toys. He was used to the noises and he was used to his mother going straight to his father when anything happened. Brian would just continue on with his day unless told otherwise. But suddenly the shouting started, the shouting that had been absent for two blissful days and Brian didn't feel like playing much anymore.

He lowered himself off the bed. He fell to the floor and rolled over to push himself up. He stumbled into the living room of their little apartment. No one was there but he could still hear them. He wondered into the kitchen but stayed in the doorway.

"It's none of your damn business where I've been!"

"Charles I think it is when you haven't been home in two days!" she yelled. "Do you know how hard it is two cope with a three year old and a job?"

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked as he reached for another can.

"Help me take care of your son," she growled. "Or at least help to pay for day care until he starts school full time."

"He's your son, why don't you do all that?"

She felt the anger grow in her. It would have been different if he had said "_he's your son too_" but he didn't say "too" which told her that her so called husband didn't care about their little boy and even worse didn't even acknowledge the fact that Brian was his.

She almost lashed out but then her eyes fell on Brian standing in the doorway. He was sucking on one of his thumbs and his other hand tugged on his shirt. He looked like he was about to cry but managed to hold it in. Lisa let out a sigh as she leaned on the kitchen table. She gave a light growl before going over to Brian and picking him up.

"This needs to stop Charles," she warned. "It's not fair on Brian to be around all this crap. He should be happy not exposed to our fights. Sort it out."

She knew who it would push some buttons but she didn't care. Right now Brian was the only thing that mattered to her, he was the defenceless one. She carried him back into the room where she would pick up their coats and Brian's shoes.

* * *

_R&R_


	2. Aged 5

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**

Aged 5.

* * *

Brian stood near his classroom. He looked back at where his Mum had been standing but all of a sudden she wasn't there anymore. He didn't want to be there, it was too scary, he wanted to be back at home with his Mum. All of the kids were loud and running around while one of the two teachers tried to stop them. Why they needed two teachers for one year group no one knew but no one openly brought it up with them.

The other teacher, Miss Ryan came over while Miss Michaels was trying to calm the kids. Miss Ryan knelt down beside where Brian stood. He still had his coat on and he was holding his school bag and lunchbox in front of him with both hands. He was staring at the other kids unsure of what to do but knowing full well that he didn't want to be there.

"Are you OK?" she asked quietly.

Brian shook his head, a frown appearing on his face. His eyebrows bunched together. He shook his head slowly and she gave him a small smile.

"What's your name?"

"Brian," he mumbled.

"O'Conner," she nodded, checking the register in her hands. "Shall we put your stuff away?"

He shook his head. "I don't wanna."

"Well you need to so we can go into class."

"Not going," he replied stubbornly.

"Tell you what," she smiled, moving slightly so he had no choice but to look at her. "We'll put your stuff away and then go inside. We'll see how things go, it can't hurt to try can it?"

He gave a slight nod and she guided him over to where he could put his stuff. Once his coat and lunch was put away he carried his bag into the room with Miss Ryan. She sat him at a table that he chose (one all on its own away from everyone). She sat with him while Miss Michaels did the register and started the lesson.

They started with some reading and writing first. Miss Ryan and Miss Michaels set them up with writing and then came around to check on them. This continued on 'til first break. Brian chose to go out at first, but as he wandered round kicking stones he realised he didn't like play time too much. He tried the various jungle gyms and toys at first before he really gave up and went back inside.

He spent the whole of break inside and when everyone came in they moved on to reading. Miss Ryan and Miss Michaels had the kids look at books, and they went around taking a kid each and reading a few pages with them to see where their reading level was at. Considering his Dad hadn't done much to help and his Mum really didn't have much time Brian's reading level was higher than expected for someone of his age.

After reading and then lunch the kids were given a chance to paint. They were given some paints, paper, brushes and crayons. The tables were all pushed together to make a bigger one and newspaper was put all over the tables and the floors so the paint wouldn't ruin anything. The kids were given aprons so not to ruin their clothes. Those with long sleeves had to roll them up so not to dip them in the paint.

Brian stood a little way off with his apron watching everyone pick a space and grab colours. Just as Miss Ryan went to go over to him he ran towards the table. He stopped at a part of the table where there were fewer students. He straightened his piece of paper. He grabbed one of the little trays that had blue paint in it. He stuck his hands into it then pressed them to the paper, making handprints.

He giggled slightly and kept making more handprints. He never got to do this at home. Dad wouldn't allow any messes when he was there. If Brian got paint on anything and it wouldn't come out… Well, Brian would be serious trouble. He had never played with paints before, hell, he hadn't played with crayons in a long time either.

"Having fun, Brian?" Miss Ryan asked as she sat beside him, straightening her apron out.

He nodded. "'nother colour?"

"Which one?"

"Red."

She grabbed the red tray and swapped it with the blue. Before he dunked his hands she wiped as much of the blue off his hand as she could. Once it was almost all off he put his hands into the red and made more handprints.

"Do you like painting?" He gave a big nod, a huge smile on his face. "Brian, have you ever used paints before?"

He shook his head.

"Have you ever coloured before?"

This time he nodded but he looked unsure.

"When?"

He shrugged.

"What's your favourite colouring book?"

Another shrug.

"Brian what's your favourite game?"

"Cars," he smiled. "And cops."

"Cars and cops?"

He wiped his hands and looked around. When his eyes fell on it he ran towards the toy box. The cars in there were much bigger but he found a car and a police car. He sat on the floor and waited for Miss Ryan to follow him.

"Car," he said holding the car up, then lowering it to hold the cop car up. "Cops."

She nodded and he set them both into one hand each. He pushed the car along and had the other hand push the cop car along. He chased the car with the cop one until he trapped it in a corner where it stopped moving.

"Oh, a car chase," she nodded. "But don't the police shout? And where are the sirens and car noises?"

"No noise," Brian pouted.

"Why not?" she asked. Didn't kids like making noise? Didn't they make car noises that sounded nothing like the real thing? Didn't they make high pitched siren noises?

"Dad says no," Brian said simply.

"Why does dad say no?"

"Doesn't like noise," Brian told her.

"Do you like the noises?"

Brian nodded and tapped his head. "I think them."

"Well, as long as you're not too loud you can make noises here," she told him. "But you can't be too loud, OK?"

He looked unsure but when she gave him a reassuring smile he looked back at his toys. He pushed them along again and after a couple of minutes he opened his mouth. He made the sound of the car as it drove before replacing it with sirens. They were quiet, he was clearly too afraid to make them any louder. He kept doing the siren noises except for when the cops shouted for the guy to stop. Miss Ryan gave a satisfied smile and ruffled his hair lightly before moving to check on the other kids.

After that Brian kept playing with the toys. He soon mastered the siren noise but still did it quietly. After a while of playing with them he ran to the paints again but used crayons instead. He drew around the handprints which had now dried and then tried writing his name at the bottom. He managed it but the "r" was backwards and it slanted down to the right a little.

"Do you want to take it home?" Miss Ryan asked him.

He shook his head.

"Shall we keep it here?" she smiled. "Maybe put it on the wall?"

He pointed at a specific part of the wall. "Please?"

She picked up the picture. "Let's find something to stick it up with."

Once they had stuck the picture up Brian relaxed a little more. Even played with a couple of little kids, and when the art supplies were put away he sat with the same kids as they did some more work.

By time it came to go home Brian almost didn't want to. It was nice here and he liked it, but unfortunately he had to. Even the teachers went home. So Brian grabbed his stuff and went outside to go home. Only no one was there. The other kids and their parents slowly disappeared until only Brian was left. The teachers left and still Brian was left. He sat down by the front gate, bag and lunch box in his lap, waiting patiently.

"Brian?"

He looked up to see Miss Ryan walking down the path to the front gates.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked softly. "School finished almost an hour ago, have you been sat out here this whole time?"

He nodded.

"I thought you saw your parents?"

He shook his head.

She tried to think back. She was sure Brian had said he could see his parents. But there were so many children running around. Then again, that didn't excuse the fact that his parents hadn't come to get him.

"Come on, honey," she said softly as she held her hand out. "We'll get you inside and call home."

He shook his head. "Mummy's working."

"I think she left a number," Miss Ryan smiled. "We'll call her there."

Brian grabbed his bags and stood up. He didn't take Miss Ryan's hand and she gave a light sigh before leading the way back into school and towards one of the offices. He waited outside while Miss Ryan went in to call his mother at work.

He sat there awkwardly. He knew it was bad to call his mum at work. She would have to leave and that will take money from her wages. Then she would get angry at his dad for forgetting, then he would get angry at her. Yes, calling mum at work was really bad.

Almost half an hour later Lisa came running through the door, breathless and her cheeks reddening.

"I'm so sorry," she said frantically. "My husband was supposed to be picking him up and he must have fallen asleep."

"Well Brian is OK," Miss Ryan said calmly.

"This isn't normal," Lisa said quickly. "First day of school got us all rattled. I doubt it'll ever happen again, my husband will be here tomorrow to pick him up."

"I don't doubt that, Mrs O'Conner. It happens." But the look in Miss Ryan's eyes said otherwise. She could see that Lisa was lying for her husband. It was crystal clear but she just kept on smiling, convinced that Lisa had Brian's best intentions at heart.

Lisa quickly went to Brian who climbed down the chair. He held his mum's hand as they walked out of the school. He twisted round and gave a small, nervous wave to Miss Ryan who waved back. Lisa smiled down at him as he did. She was happy that he could be open at school. It made her feel bad that she was taking him home to where his dad would no doubt be drunk or fast asleep. Maybe both.

* * *

_R&R_


	3. Aged 8

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 8**

* * *

**A/N:** _Sorry that this one is a little short but I wanted to update, I'm hoping short chapters will be rare. So far, thank you for the interest! It really means a lot to me :)_

* * *

Brian paced his room for almost an hour. He tried to concentrate on the peeling wallpaper, the discoloured carpet and the messed up bed. He held the two action figures tightly in his hands. They were both soldiers Both had their full kit on, they even came with a couple of guns for them to hold. The colours were all browns and greens, and the quality wasn't perfect but Brian loved them. Lisa had gotten a bonus at work and decided to spend a small part of it on the action figures for Brian. He only ever got new things at Christmas and on his birthday. He would get an item of clothing, one toy and some sort of book. So when Brian got the new action figures he was more than excited, only problem was he had no one to play with.

Eventually Brian stopped pacing and he headed out to the living room. Charles was sat on the recliner, he had a can in one hand and the remote in the other. He was laughing and yelling at the TV. Brian nervously went over and sat at the end of the couch near his dad. He studied the toys again, waiting for the advert to come on TV. He knew that interrupting in the middle of a show would end very badly. More so now that his dad had made his way through a few cans.

"Dad?"

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

"Will you play for me?" He held up one of the toys.

"Playing is for babies."

"Oh, OK," Brian nodded.

He got up quickly without any arguments before his dad could say anything more. When he got back into his room he threw the toys into the small box he had. Brian started to pace again after that. It was hard for him to concentrate. All he wanted was someone to play with. His mum would be too tired when she got back from work so that only left his dad. To be honest, getting to spend time with his dad was a bonus.

This was the longest Charles had been home in a long time. He had been back a week, that's the longest in almost six months. No matter how many times he left Brian always felt relieved and a lot better when he came back home. That's when Brian's eyes fell on his homework booklet and a pencil. He snatched it out and rushed back out to the living room to sit on the couch again. This sort of thing wasn't for babies, was it?

"Dad, will you help me with homework?"

"Sure," Charles grunted.

A grin appeared on Brian's face as he opened up his homework booklet and got to work. The smile soon faded away when he realised that his dad wasn't going to help him. When he started with math his dad would only respond with "didn't they teach you that at school?" and when he moved to history his dad only responded with "Jesus, Bri, I wasn't there how am I supposed to know?" Of course, none of this made sense to Brian. Sure they taught him that at school and well he _knew_ his dad wasn't that old. He wasn't stupid after all.

Eventually Brian gave up and headed back into his room. He stared at the homework booklet for a good while before he threw it onto his desk along with the pen. He sat angrily on the bed, weren't dads supposed to help with homework? Or maybe they weren't? Brian couldn't be sure, he didn't exactly have any proper friends, and the ones he did have... Well they didn't talk much about life outside of school, especially their families. Not that he would want to. He loved his family, of course he did but he wasn't exactly shouting about them from the rooftops.

Brian couldn't understand. He constantly asked himself why his dad hated him so much. Sometimes he managed to convince himself that he was wrong, that his dad loved him and that would always be the case, but then most of the time he would realise that he didn't matter. Brian laid back on his bed and tried not to cry. Everything would be fine when mum got home.

* * *

_R&R_


	4. Aged 13

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 13**

* * *

**A/N:** _As it was asked, the last age was 8 and this one is 13 but looks briefly at aged 12 at the beginning :) Brian should be about 25ish during the chapter(s) involving the team (first movie) and then he'll be about 26ish during the chapter(s) that look at 2 Fast 2 Furious. In terms of his education, lifestyle, etc it will all be relieved bit by bit as it goes on :)_

* * *

Brian's life picked up somewhat when he hit his teens. His dad continued to not help him with school work and his mum continued to be busy (not that he blamed her much, she had no choice). It 'caused him to have his ups and downs in turns of grades. Sport was an on, off sort of thing for him. It depended on the activity to whether he would put in the effort. Anything academic, like science for example, didn't work well for him. In no way was he terrible at them but he definitely wasn't going to get far in life with those grades. What surprised Brian the most was that it was the more creative things that kept him going. His artwork was constantly on display, his English essays got top marks and not that he would ever admit it but he could sew pretty good too.

God how his dad would kill him for that one. But really Brian had no choice. They were to try out some of the possible classes to help them decide what they wanted to do later one. No thanks to his dad, Brian showed up late and sewing was all that was left. He got a comfy pillow out of it so a win win in Brian's mind. That's when he became friends with Rome, naturally leaving sewing behind forever.

_"You sew?" Rome chuckled._

_"Hell no!" Brian said angrily. "Nothin' else to take."_

_"Sure...," Rome smirked._

_"Well, what did you do?" Brian challenged._

_That got Rome nervous. "N-Nothing."_

_"Come on." Brian's eyes narrowed, he wasn't about to back down. "Tell me."_

_"Dancin'." It was so quiet that Brian almost missed it._

_"You dance?" Brian laughed._

_"There wasn't anythin' left," Rome argued. "Not even sewing!"_

_"Sure..." Brian smirked, imitating Rome's earlier comment._

That was how they became friends, both teasing the other over how girly they had to be for just over an hour. After that they ended up in most classes together. They were lab partners, on the same sports teams, Brian taught Rome how to be more creative and Rome... Well, Rome taught Brian to be less afraid of something. This all happened at the age of twelve and a year later they were still friends, the best of friends in fact and Brian had changed dramatically.

"Where's Lily?" Rome asked as he came to stand with Brian in the queue.

"She bought in her own lunch," Brian shrugged. "Savin' us a seat."

"Things goin' good with you guys?"

"It's only been two months," Brian mumbled, grabbing random stuff to put on his tray as he walked. "Why you buggin' me about it?"

"Not buggin' you," Rome laughed. "Just curious."

"Only curious 'cause you want her."

"And you're scared she might want me back," Rome grinned.

They walked over to the table and sat down with Lily. She shuffled a little closer to Brian as he sat but not too close that she was suffocating him. He liked that, she knew where to draw the line. He also liked that she didn't seem to have the perfect life either. It was just her and her dad. A nice guy who owned a bar, they lived in the apartment above it. He allowed Brian to come round whenever he needed it. Sometimes even Rome was allowed, but seen as it had become just Rome and his mum he usually refused.

"How's your mum and dad?" Lily asked quietly.

Brian nose crinkled up at that. His dad had stuck around for the past few months, Brian thought that it might be because the house was usually empty. Even so his dad had stuck around and his mum had been more than thrilled, they never left each other alone.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Come on, they seem happy," Lily commented.

"'Til he starts drinking again," Brian shrugged. "Or decides he don't want no home life."

"I know I don't come around much," Lily whispered. "But they looked happy."

Brian nodded, because well, they did. They were kissing whenever they thought they were alone, hell it probably went a lot further than that, Brian wasn't stupid he knew what those sounds meant. He'd even heard his dad give his mum a few compliments. At first he thought he had imagined it but one day when Rome came by he heard a similar thing. So yeah, they were happy, Brian couldn't deny that but he couldn't help but wonder for how long?

* * *

"You were a little quiet earlier," Rome commented as they walked home.

"I bet your mum and dad made up loads..."

"Yeah... So?"

"He left," Brian shrugged.

"And maybe your dad won't."

"Maybe I want him to."

Rome stopped walked. "Are you serious? I'd kill to have my dad."

"Sure I want him like he is now," Brian sighed, also stopping. "The clean, no drinking, helpful, kind dad."

"But?"

"Most of my life I've known him as the drunk, rude, dirty, ungrateful dad. I don't want him if that's all I'm gonna get."

"He's still your dad?"

"You take him."

"I didn't say that," Rome said defensively.

Brian smiled. "Then don't ask me to just accept him."

"Lily says she never gets to go to yours, just that one time," Rome commented as they started walking. "Why is that?"

"She may live above a bar but her place is pretty fancy," Brian mumbled. "I don't want her to see the shit hole I live in too much."

"Ain't that bad..."

"It's a trailer," Brian laughed. "Down graded from an apartment to a fucking trailer."

"Still a home."

"I guess," Brian sighed. "I know I'm luckier than most but... She's already too good for me."

"OK, you're doing it all wrong." Rome put his arm around Brian's shoulders as they walked. "You gotta act like you're to good for her."

"Why the hell would I do that?" Brian laughed.

"Because we don't want chicks tying us down."

"You do realise we're only thirteen, right?" Brian snorted. "And Lily isn't just some chick."

"We're in our prime," Rome grinned.

"I'll remind you of this when we're older," Brian chuckled as Rome walked away.

* * *

_R&R_


	5. Aged 13 - Part 2

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 13 Part-2**

* * *

**A/N:** Hey! I'd like to thank the person who brought up the whole how Brian met Rome thing. I had actually forgotten about it. So that slight change from the movies was an accident but I decided to keep it in :) There will also be other changes… Family members, certain events, etc. So Brian's life/past won't be exactly how you know it, just a warning.

Like this age, there are a few others where there will be part 1 and part 2 :) This is 13 part 2 but admittedly it does drift slightly into aged 14 at the end…

* * *

Brian wondering how long things would last for between his parents seemed to be needed. A couple months after things got better his mum found out that she was pregnant. His dad had gone straight back to the alcohol and stopped coming home for days at a time. Brian knew things were going to go bad, he had just got serious with Lily and life was more than good. When things went back to bad Brian reluctantly broke up with Lily when he came home one day to a scene that he didn't want to see.

_"Mum?!"_

_There was the sound of someone being sick in the bathroom. Brian rushed through the little trailer they stayed in and over to the bathroom. He tried to enter the bathroom but it wouldn't open, it was locked. He threw his weight at the door, thankful it was one of those paper sliding doors. He ripped through it and fell through into the bathroom. His mum was on the floor, crouched over the toilet. He managed to squeezed round her and sat on the little bath._

_"Mum?" His tone was a lot quieter, more afraid._

_"Hmm," she mumbled, head resting against the seat._

_"Where's dad?"_

_"Isn't back yet."_

_"Why were you being si-" But then his eyes fell on the bottle of pills. He snatched them up, some spilling out. "Did you take these?"_

_She nodded, crying slightly. "I threw them straight back up, I promise."_

_"Why?" Brian mumbled._

_"Baby," was all she said._

_"You were trying to kill it?" Brian asked angrily._

_"Please don't shout," she cried._

_"Why shouldn't I?" Brian snapped. "She's my sister."_

_She looked up at that. "She? Sister?"_

_He shrugged. "OK, maybe he, still my sibling."_

_"I know," she nodded._

_"You only did this because he didn't want her," Brian growled._

_She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Please, don't be angry. We're going to need you."_

_"No," Brian shook his head. "She's going to need me."_

_"I won't hurt her."_

_"These say otherwise."_

_He threw the pills at her and left the room to make something to eat, something healthy. He could hear her crying and he almost went back. But he didn't, instead Brian kept heading for the kitchen, he would make up with her later, or after they went to the doctor to be checked over._

* * *

There hadn't been an incident like that again. Lisa went to all her check-ups, ate what Brian gave her and cut out all the bad things in her life. Her husband she never cut out but during the whole pregnancy he only ever showed up twice. Brian could see that it pained his mum so he distracted her as best as he could, Rome's mum even offered to spend time with her and help out. He never really forgave her forgave her for the pills but they needed each other. In the end, nine months later, they were presented with a new born baby girl, a little before Brian's fourteenth birthday.

"I hope she's mine," Lisa mumbled as she woke up, catching sight of Brian pacing with a small baby in his hands. "And that you haven't got some girl knocked up."

"Mum I'm thirteen not stupid," Brian said softly as he shifted the baby in his arms. "And we need a name."

"You name her."

"Why?" Brian asked curiously.

"You love her," Lisa shrugged. "You're more creative than me too."

"Who says I'll name her something creative?"

She chuckled slightly as she moved to sit up. "Well name her or I'm calling her Edith."

"Edith?" Brian asked, sounding disgusted.

"Yup." She grinned as he stopped pacing. "So, what's it gonna be?"

"Alright, alright," he said hurriedly. "Give me a minute to think."

"Ten seconds," she said in a sing-song voice. "Ten... Nine..."

"Fine, fine fine," he said, making her stop. "How about... How about, Katie?"

"Katie," Lisa mused. "Yeah, I like Katie. Katie O'Conner."

Brian nodded, a grin on his face. "You want to hold her?"

"Give me a minute to wake up a little and I'll take her."

"The nurse wanted to see her," Brian mused. "I'll take her to get checked over and then have her brought back here to see you."

"Checked over?" Lisa squeaked.

"Routine stuff," Brian assured. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

Brian helped to take care of Katie. For the first six months of her life Lisa didn't work during the day and when Brian came home they would have a couple of hours as a family before Lisa would go to work for a few hours leaving the two kids alone. She knew it could prove dangerous but it was only for five hours and Brian was good with Katie, plus her boss understood if she ever had to leave.

After her six month mark Rome's mum offered to babysit. It gave her something to do and it meant Lisa could work during the day and they could spend some family time at home. At the end of the week Lisa would cook Rome's mum a dinner and give her some money for her troubles. Things were perfect and Brian knew that life would be good, at least til Dad got home.

"What are you doing up?" Brian asked as he wondered into the guest room. They had set up a crib and that in there for Katie. "Huh?"

"Ba!"

"Shh," he ushered. "It's bed time."

She shook her head and frowned. "Pay."

"We can't play," Brian sighed. "Tomorrow, I promise."

"Pay," she said stubbornly.

"No," he said, equally as stubborn.

She pouted her lip and looked like she was about to cry. Brian rolled his eyes and went to her. He leaned on the bars, nose to nose with his sister. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in interest. He kissed her nose quickly before settling back again. She giggled and patted his cheeks softly, allowing Brian to smile.

"Hmm," she hummed.

"Hmm?"

She sat back into her crib and patted the space beside her. Brian groaned, she wanted him to sleep in the crib with her. It had happened twice before and he knew it wouldn't help her in the long run, just for those few hours she didn't want to be alone. He blamed himself for that, her being afraid so easily.

"Fine, lie down."

She laid down, pulling her blanket up. He lowered the side of the crib and laid down beside her. He reached over and lifted the side up 'til it clicked. When he rolled on his side she was in the same position. She yawned, her eyes closing slightly. They fluttered a little before closing finally. Her breathing was heavy and Brian laid there quietly, trying not to wake her.

* * *

_R&R_


	6. Aged 16

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner****  
****Aged 16**

"Did you get it?!"

Brian held the phone away from his ear as Rome's voice yelled down it. He rolled his eyes, counted to five then put it back to his ear. Rome was silent on the other end, impatiently waiting for Brian to answer him.

"'Course I got it."

The grin could be heard in Rome's voice. "'bout time!"

"You only got yours last week," Brian chuckled.

"Week sooner than you," he snorted. "Now you just gotta get yourself a car."

"And how am I supposed to get a car?"

"We'll just ride in mine 'til you get one."

"And how did _you_ afford one?"

"Dude, I've been saving up since I was fourteen, and Mum gave me some towards it every month out of her wages," he explained. "Not much, like five dollars at the most, but it helped a lot."

"Looks like I'm gonna have to get saving."

"Hell yeah, boy, we need to race!"

Brian chuckled a little at that. They had both gotten into cars about the same time when an oppuntity to learn about them came up at school, after that they heard more and more about the race scene. They knew it was illegal but they both wanted in so bad that they just didn't care. There was only the slightest of problems... They didn't know how to race per say and at the time none of them had a car.

"So, you coming over or what?"

Brian groaned. "Your place is like an hour from here, you're the one with the fancy new car. Come and get me."

"Fine," Rome sighed. "Sit tight, white boy."

* * *

After picking him up, Rome and Brian had gone to the old airstrip. It hadn't been used in years, decades even and there had been plans for months about replacing it with something more worthwhile. Probably houses, or a new mall. But for now the racers claimed it and used it when they could to practice. It seemed to be the only time the police turned a blind eye to them seen as they were out of the way.

They took turns racing Rome's new car around the strip. It would need a lot of work if it was ever going to be suitible for the races. They even took a break and looked under the hood to see what they could change. After the technical checks they looked at the design. It was a plain, faded blue colour that would definitely need some sort of touch up.

"You know we're never going to be able to afford fixing this, right?"

"There's nothing wrong with my car," Rome grunted.

"Fine you race with it then." Rome just hung his head in response. "Exactly, we ain't gonna be able to race. We'll get this thing barely an inch from the starting line and they'll already be at the end."

"Fine, it needs work," Rome agreed. "But it isn't that bad."

"For us," Brian chuckled. "Have you seen the speed of some of those cars?"

"Hell yeah," Rome grinned. "Looks like fun, don't it?"

Brian nodded with agreement. "At least one of us will have that."

"Come on, man," Rome groaned. "I'll help ya save up."

"No, we'll fix yours up," Brian nodded. "Worry 'bout my car later."

"What time does Katie finish nursery?" Rome asked, hoping to change the subject.

"What time is it now?"

"Nearly half one."

"She's about about half an hour left."

Rome raised an eyebrow in confusion. "When did she start?"

"About 9ish," Brian shrugged.

"Bit long for a three year old..."

"Nah, she loves it," Brian smiled. "Tells me all about it."

"Well why don't we go and pick her up?"

"No car seat," Brian shrugged.

"Your house is on the way, we'll swing by and pick her seat up."

"Don't have one," Brian laughed. "We always use her pram when we take the bus."

"What about your dad's car? Surely he has one for it?"

"He wouldn't be caught dead with a car seat," Brian chuckled.

Rome suddenly patted his back. "Come on."

They both got off the car and climbed inside. As they were driving it seemed like they were heading back towards Brian's house. That puzzled him, if they were going to the nursery the route would be slightly different and he already explained it was pointless swinging by the house. He would've just gone and got Katie himself.

But instead they stopped a little away from Brian's house, outside the mall in fact. Brian, confused at the whole thing, followed Rome as he got out of the car and headed inside. They moved around the first floor until Rome found the shop he wanted and went inside. Brian stood numbly outside, staring at it. It sold all the essentials for having a baby, why in the hell did Rome want this place?

When he finally went in he found Rome at the counter with a baby seat. He eyed it suspiciously as he handed over the money and the woman scanned the tag. As Brian stepped closer Rome thanked the woman and then they were leaving again.

"Why the hell do you have that?"

"We need one."

"Then let me give you the money," Brian offered.

"No." Rome shook his head. "She's my sister too. So let me buy this and keep it my car."

Brian kept quiet after that but demanded that he carry the seat at least. When they got back to the car they both tried to strap it in. It took them longer than it should have to do but eventually they got it and were off to the nursery to wait for Katie.

* * *

"Bri!" Katie screamed as she ran at him.

He caught her in a hug and kissed the top of her head softly. "Hey you."

"Rome!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hey, kiddo," he chuckled.

"We're going to ride in Rome's car today," Brian explained.

She looked up at him with confusion. "No bus?"

He shook his head as he knelt down in front of her. "I was thinking we could and get ice-cream before we go home."

"Chocolate?" she asked happily.

"Any flavour you want."

The grin on her face spread, and Brian kissed the top of her head again. When he stood up again he took hold of her hand, and she reached up with her other one to hold Rome's. Brian ignored all the looks he got, especially from kids of his own age or parents. He didn't care how he looked when he was with his little sister. He squeezed her hand gently as he quietly lead her over to the car.

* * *

_R&R_


	7. Aged 18

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 18**

Charles O'Conner decided to stick around again, although he kept up his disappearing act of a couple of days he generally stuck around. He didn't do any family things like barbecues, spending time with the kids and doing school runs. He did _some_ work when it suited him and occasionally cleaned up after himself. However, the arguments never stopped. As Brian got older they were directed more towards him, the usual one being about school.

* * *

_"Brian!"_

_"He's angry," Katie whispered. For a four almost five year old she was just as aware of their dad as he was._

_"Yeah," he agreed. "I wonder what it's about this time."_

_"I'll be here when you get back."_

_Brian smiled as she squeezed his hand. Even though they had a spare room the two of them were sharing Brian's room. Their dad had taken claim to the spare room. He had put in a couch, mini fridge and what not so he could get away whenever he wanted. Brian didn't mind much, he liked having Katie in his room, something that made him different to most seventeen nearly eighteen year old._

_Finally Brian got up from Katie's bed before he was shouted for again. He threw her toy ponies and dolls that he had gotten her onto the bed, something for her to play with while he was gone. He made sure to shut the door as he left, hoping to block out as much of the shouting to come. When he reached the kitchen his mum was by the sink and his dad at the table. Lisa gave him a quick glance before turning back to the dishes._

_"School report," Charles stated as he slid it across the table._

_"So?"_

_"You've failed all your classes."_

_Brian sighed. "No, I passed technically, just not to the standard they wanted."_

_"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Basically in most of my classes they wanted a C and in one a B and in one an A."_

_"And what did you get?"_

_"Well, in the classes with Cs I got a Ds, in art I got a D instead of my B and I only got the B instead of the A because my teacher is an ass."_

_Charles grabbed the report and studied it again. "Mechanics? You got a B for playing with cars?"_

_"It's a little more than playing with cars," Brian ground out._

_"Doesn't excuse the other fails," Charles yelled. "All Ds?!"_

_"Honey, he was out of school for a few months."_

_"Out of school is putting it lightly," Charles growled. "Six months inside for petty stealing, boy you're lucky you weren't old enough to go to proper prison. Hell, I'd pay someone to throw you in there for a while, set you straight."_

_"Charles!"_

_"No, mum," Brian said quickly. "Go on... Dad."_

_"You couldn't even steal right, no wonder you got Ds at school," Charles chuckled. "I'm surprised you even got that."_

_"Then why in the hell did you drag me out here about this then?" Brian snapped._

_Charles was up in a flash. He grabbed Brian by the collar and pushed him up against the wall. He grunted as the wind was knocked out of him. Charles held his collar tighter and tighter as he muttered an angry "don't you dare talk to me like that, boy." Brian didn't apologise though, he just locked eyes with his Dad. Eventually with some pleading from Lisa Charles let go of him, but not entirely before he slammed Brian against the wall._

_Brian briefly fell down the wall into a heap. He shook it off as quickly as possible before he ran towards his room. When he got inside he leaned against the door to catch his breath. Katie was on her bed looking over at him. He wondered over and sat on the bed beside her. Her worried eyes on him was unsettling but he pushed pass it as he laid down on the bed._

_"Did he hurt you?"_

_"No," he lied. But when she refused to look away he sighed. "A little."_

_"Is he allowed to?"_

_"Probably not," Brian admitted. "Better me than you though."_

_"He doesn't love us?"_

_Brian considered lying, but chose against it. "I don't think so, kiddo."_

_"And mum?"_

_"In her own way..."_

_"Well I love you," Katie told him._

_He nodded as she curled up against his side, her little hand resting on his chest. He covered it with his._

* * *

Those sort of situations weren't rare. Besides that one the worst was when Brian went to juvie but anything involving that was pushed out of Brian's mind. He was almost seventeen when he was sentenced to six months for stealing. He never listened to the legal side of it all, never cared why he got six months and what was going to happen. Lucky for him Rome was in with him too. They stuck together after the first month. They were stealing so they could afford to pay for fixing up Rome's car, and the reason they had gotten caught was that Brian was too slow and he told the truth about what happened. That old passion to be a cop popping up. It meant that Rome was pissed with him for about the first month til they both snapped.

After that they seemed to be closer than ever, promising to never speak of it again and until the races do things above board. They saved and used what they'd learned at school to fix the car up. But of course Charles wouldn't let it go, Brian was reminded all the time about it. First he was reminded of how much of a disgrace he was, being yelled at and thrown against walls. After that he was reminded of how useless he was because he couldn't even steal something the right way, that also included yelling and being thrown against the wall but at the same time had Charles laughing. Slowly the reasoning changed and the list of reactions got longer.

Brian didn't mind so much though, as long as it was against him and not Katie he really couldn't care. She would be the one to not be at the harsh end of their dad. And she seemed to understand that because no matter what happened she would comfort Brian as best as she could. Maybe it was because she was never a proper witness to the fights. She was always at school, or at the other end of the trailer in her room or out with Brian and Rome. At least until Brian came home one day.

"Don't you walk away from me!" This was one of those rare times that Lisa yelled back. She used to do it all the time when Brian was younger but now she barely spoke up.

"I'll go wherever I want, woman!"

Brian spotted them as he got closer. They were out the font, both red faced from obviously screaming at each other. Brian crept closer, trying not to be seen. When the opportunity came up he rushed forward and slipped into the trailer. He kept close to it, listening to any sounds that his parents were coming back inside. When he was convinced he turned around, intent on going to his and Katie's room, but he stopped dead.

His eyes fell on Katie who was sat on the floor. The little five year old was trying not to cry as she clung to her teddy. She looked up at Brian with surprise, and it only grew as he stepped closer. He gently picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

"What happened?" he asked, as he sat her on the bed.

"They started shouting then he walked out."

"And mum followed?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Did you get hurt?"

She shook her head. "No."

He nodded his head and started to pack a bag for them both, using a second smaller one to put Katie's school stuff and a few toys in. "We're going to go stay at Rome's for the night, maybe a little longer."

"How long?" she frowned.

"Just a few days, not even that."

"Like a holiday?"

"Yes," Brian smiled. "Like a holiday."

She only nodded and picked out some toys to take while Brian packed. Once they were he helped Katie to put on her shoes and coat. Brian then clipped the smaller bag onto the bigger one before slinging it over his shoulder. He leaned down and picked Katie up and motioned for her to keep quiet. They crept through the trailer and got the door with no issue.

As Brian peered out he could see they were busy. They probably wouldn't notice they were missing but if they got caught then that would be different. Brian took his opportunity and slipped out. He managed to sneak round them and get to the shade of the trees. He kept hold of Katie as they walked to the main road. Once there he sent Rome a text, asking for him to come and get them.

Not so long ago they had managed to fix up Rome's car to win. They raced small at first and got some money, the second time was for pink slips. The car they won was also a newbie so needed a bit of work. They decided that Brian should take it and work it up. After that they raced for small amounts of cash, hoping to work up for the bigger races, especially when Brian's new one was better. However, because of his dad Brian kept his car at Rome's to stop questions.

* * *

"What happened?" Rome asked when they were sat back at his.

"They're arguing," Brian sighed. "It upset Katie."

Rome looked through into the kitchen. "She OK?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You should think about moving your car to yours, you can leave with her whenever you like."

"I don't know if I'm even going back."

"Honey, I don't think you can do that, not keep Katie away from them anyway."

Brian glanced up as Rome's mum sat with them, June. "I know, but I have to do something."

"Well stay here for a night or two, think things over."

"Thanks, Mrs Pearce." Even though she was no longer a 'Mrs' or a 'Pearce' it was just habit for Brian and she never flinched or shouted at him for it.

"Anytime," she smiled. "Come over whenever you need to. Although if you're going to take me up on that offer I insist you call me June."

He nodded, a small smile appearing. "She's not in the way is she?"

"Who, Katie?" June laughed. "God no! She's at such a wonderful age."

"Good," Brian sighed. "She's a good kid but I didn't want to invade too much."

"Oh no, I love it," June grinned. "In fact, I'm going to play with house, you boys behave."

"Swap mums?" Brian asked as she left the room.

Rome chuckled a little. "How about we share?"

"Better than nothing," he shrugged.

The two of them sat in silence for a while. After a while they gradually came up with a plan. _If_ Brian could legally take full custody over Katie Rome would convince his mum to let them stay. Meanwhile the boys would save up money for a new place, getting better jobs, maybe at garages if they were lucky. They knew it was a little too big to achieve but they had to try, and even if they couldn't take Katie straight away they would save and ensure that Katie got away from the house as much as she could.

They silently agreed that they would keep her safe.

* * *

_R&R_


	8. Aged 20

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 20**

* * *

**A/N: **_Hey, so yeah, another reminder that this is my version so a lot of it will go against what Brian has said about his past in the films. I wanted it to be different. In later chapers there will be quotes taken directly from the films but other than that his past will be different to what he tells you in the films. Also, I'm sorry for the British coming out in me (i.e. putting "Mum" instead of "Mom") I do change such things a lot of the time, I have no idea why I didn't for this story but I'm sorry. Also, apparently earlier on I got some details wrong (like how in America kids don't go to school at 5) sorry about that, I should have checked. Sorry for any issues it may have caused with anyone :)_

* * *

Rome and Brian had saved up for a new place but in the end June just suggested that as long as Brian was legally allowed to be taking care of Katie they should all just live at the Pearce residence. The boys paid money towards bills and food while June babysat Katie and made sure she got to school. Brian hadn't got through any legal channels when it came to Katie but instead spoke to his mum. He pleaded to be able to take her and live away from her and their dad. At first Lisa disagreed until she saw how upset Katie got after yet another fight. In the end she agreed, only if she could see Katie.

That didn't last. Lisa got so wrapped up in finally having spare time that she slowly saw less and less of Katie. Cards on special occasions and the odd present were extent of their communication. At first Katie asked questions but soon stopped. Charles never even bothered to ask where Katie and Brian had gone. So Brian kept an eye on her, as her brother he really was the next in charge after all.

"Dude, does your mum know?" Brian laughed as they stood by their cars.

"That we race?" Rome chuckled. "I bet she's guessed."

"And hasn't said anything?" Brian asked, eyebrow raised slightly.

He shrugged, looking unphased. "Probably won't 'til we get caught. We don't bring home any trouble, we're still working and you look after Katie whenever you can. In her eyes we're doing everything right."

"Remind me why I didn't move in with you sooner?"

"Not my fault you're simple minded," Rome shrugged.

Brian shoved him lightly. "You or me first?"

"Think it was me."

"Please don't lose it." This was one of the few times they'd raced big, a ten grand sort of race. They only did this when they'd been saving up their smaller race money and had loads spare over.

"As long as you don't lose we'll be fine," Rome grinned. "Beauty of going first. I lose the ten grand that's sort of OK, but if you lose our second ten grand..."

Brian started to regret their agreement. The middle sized races were from between three thousand and five thousand, usually amateurs. Beginners paid a lot less which is what they boys started in. However when they went up to the three to five races they decided to both race and then when they would win (usually between twelve and twenty) they would keep some of their winnings (usually close to half) by so that if there ever was a rainy day they would have it saved up. Brian going second meant that if Rome lost then Brian had to win, losing twenty grand and going home with nothing would be a loss.

"Fine, I won't lose," Brian sighed. "But at least try to win."

"What d'you take me for?"

Brian rolled his eyes as Rome jumped back into his car to drive to the starting line.

* * *

Rome's race went better than either of them expected. He won and then _minutes_ later the other three drivers crossed the finish line. Once the win had settled in his mind and he was handed his forty grand. He had no trouble whatsoever with waving it about in Brian's face.

Brian almost punched him when he didn't stop but managed to restrain himself as he wondered over to start his own race. He gripped at the steering wheel once the car was ready to move. He needed to win this. They could do with the money and he'd never live it down now if he lost.

His mind was cleared of worry as soon as the usual chaser came to stand in front of all the cars. His eyes ran shamelessly over her as she got ready to start the race. Something that tended to happen, if it wasn't her it would be one of the others. With everything that had been going on he hadn't really had much of a chance to meet anyone and get a steady girlfriend. It had turned into a one night stand sort of detail in the past couple of years or so.

"Concentrate," he muttered to himself.

He shook his head and as soon as she dropped her hands he was off. Brian took second place with ease, but first place would prove hard to get. He pushed the pedal, shifting a couple of gears as he did. He kept this up but it seemed that no matter what he did he wouldn't be catch up to first place. He floored it and shifted the last gear. When the front of his car came side to side with the back of the car in front he gripped the steering wheel tighter. They were almost there and just as Brian felt like first place was slipping away from him the car in front lost control.

"Shit," Brian hissed as he swerved to avoid it.

As he passed the now crashed car he took a chance of looking behind him. The car had spun round and was now facing the opposite way, it's front end in crushed into a lamp post. Brian looked back in front of him, knowing that it might not be all safe riding from here. He kept his foot to the floor and his hand tightly on the steering wheel, only relaxing as he skidded over the finish line.

When he exited the car Rome was by his side in an instant. Brian gave a confident smirk to which Rome rolled his eyes. The boys counted the money when it was handed over and they bathed in the celebration for a bit before heading back, wanting to get back to Katie as soon as possible.

* * *

_R&R_


	9. Aged 23

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 23**

**A/N: **_aw, you're all awesome for reviewing/messaging me :) but I really want to thank "Psychotic Coconut Observer", your review just made me feel so much better and it made me smile, so thank you! Also a few notes... In the flashback Brian is roughly 22 and Katie is roughly 9, after the flashback he is roughly 23 and she is roughly 10. Also, the next couple of chapters after this is based on the first film so you will see _

* * *

Having a ten year old sister could be trouble enough but almost putting her life in danger when she was only nine was a step too far. Rome and Brian had saved up money and got two apartments right across the hall from each other. They were a nice size, in a good part of Miami, meaning they'd attract no trouble. Brian and Katie took one while Rome and June took the other. She offered to care of Katie whenever Brian wasn't home. However one time things didn't really go to plan like they normally did…

* * *

_Brian and Rome had taken the chance to go to one of the after parties, they had won big and they knew that Rome's mum was looking after Katie so there was no rush to get back. They found themselves a beer, a spot to dance in and a chaser to dance with. Both boys having the same conclusion about what was going to happen between them and their new friends._

_However, before Brian could get his chaser interested enough to go upstairs with him a scream from outside attracted him. He knew that scream all too well. It sounded like Katie, but it couldn't be. The last time he had heard that scream was around her eight birthday. It was the last time Brian had taken her to see their parents. They had yelled at each other again and Katie had screamed when it became more violent. He had been the bigger man by making an effort of taking Katie to see them, but since then Brian vouched never again to put her in a situation where she would react like that._

_"Dude is that…?" Rome asked._

_"I had the same thought," Brian admitted. "But she's at home, right?"_

_Rome picked up his phone and dialed. He held it to his ear and put his finger in the other so he could hear. When he dropped the phone back into his pocket he gulped. "There's no answer."_

_"Well it is late."_

_"Dude, it's only just turned midnight, they have classic reruns on at this time," Rome countered. "Sure they could be asleep, but I doubt it."_

_"Let's check it out then."_

_Brian and Rome quickly made their way towards the back door, ignoring the hurt look on their chaser's faces. They were out the door in seconds to see a crowd in the garden. They were all drinking and dancing and yelling. As the crowd moved Brian finally spotted her and his heart sunk. She really was there, it had been her that screamed._

_"Katie!" he called. He rushed forward and picked her up quickly. She struggled but he made her look at him. "It's me!"_

_"Bri?" she breathed._

_"Yes," he nodded, holding her close. "What are you doing here?"_

_"June is sick," she sniffed. "I couldn't get hold of you."_

_He checked his phone and cursed at this missed calls from June and Rome's house phone. "Why didn't you call Rome?"_

_"I couldn't remember the number," she cried._

_"OK, OK," he hushed. "It's OK. We'll go home and sort this all out."_

_"What happened?" Rome asked as Brian came back over with Katie._

_"I think there might be something wrong with your Mum," Brian whispered. "We really need to go."_

_"We've been drinking," Rome reminded._

_"I've only had a couple," Brian argued. "It's fine. We'll come back for your car tomorrow, OK?"_

_"Yeah, OK, let's go."_

_Brian kept a hand tight on Katie's as they made their way round the side of the house. Luckily Brian had parked his car on the side of the road so it was easy enough to get out. They drove away from the house as fast as they could, heading back in the direction of their apartments._

_They were almost there, only a couple of minutes away when things went wrong. Brian's eyes blurred a little and he misjudged one of the corners. He turned it too fast and the car flipped. It rolled over about three or four times before it finally stopped, only problem was it was upside down._

_Brian blinked as he came to. He coughed as he heard Rome's groan. The two of them unbuckled themselves and crawled out of the smashed windows. Rome cursed loudly as he caught his arm on the jagged bit of glass, creating a big gash on his arm. Brian held his hand to his head as he sat on the floor for a moment. Once he'd assessed the damaged of his forehead his mind clicked. Katie._

_He crawled forward and laid down on his stomach, ignoring the glass and shards of metal littered everywhere. He looked through the broken back window to see Katie still strapped in. Her arms hand fallen above her head. She wasn't moving and blood dripped from her head._

_"Katie," he whispered._

_There was no reply and from how limp her body seemed to be he knew she was unconscious. The only thing that settled him slightly was the rise and fall of her chest. He reached through and took hold of her hand._

_"Katie?" He was louder this time and he gently squeezed her hand. "Baby, answer me."_

_Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived and they were all taken to the hospital. Rome managed to call an ambulance to go to his mum's house before he was told to sit still so they could bandage his arm._

* * *

They were all very lucky. Rome's worst injury was the gash and Brian's was on the one on his head. He had a slight concussion but no severe damage. Katie had been knocked unconscious and needed surgery but with a couple of months or so she was completely healthy again, only being left with some scars that wouldn't go away. Rome's mum wasn't as lucky. Turned out she had a stroke, her words had slurred and she had collapsed. When Katie tried to wake her and couldn't she called Brian. Of course he never picked up so she had gone looking for him. When he questioned her she admitted she had heard him talking about the party.

Brian almost wasn't there for Katie's recovery or June's. He had been breathalysed and then sent down for drink driving. The sentence wasn't long but due to good behaviour and a deal he got out. He gave some information he heard while inside (something he wasn't proud of) and agreed to join the force to keep him on the straight and narrow. Naturally after that he and Rome argued, causing them to fall out.

And that's how he made it to graduating the police academy. He stood up with all the other rookies, waiting to be congratulated one at a time. He looked out over the crowd and spotted Katie on the front row. She waved enthusiastically at him and he returned it. June had wanted to come too but even after all these months she had to walk with a cane and became tired very easily.

* * *

"You did it, Bri!" Katie shouted as he got closer.

"Yeah, kiddo," he mumbled happily as he ruffled her hair.

"What's wrong?"

He looked down at her, even now his stomach turned with guilt. She had a scar reaching from the top of her head, running down the side til it stopped on her cheek. It was one of the worse scars she had, it was a little jagged looking in places, but Katie said it reminded her of a half moon. They had the option of plastic surgery but when Katie refused Brian didn't push it. She could always get it fixed later, and the surgeons said the scar could fade slightly as she grew, not completely but at least a little.

"Nothing, baby," he whispered.

"Is it Rome?" she asked quietly as they walked away.

"No..."

As they wondered into the small cafe across the road he hoped the conversation would end there, but it didn't. As soon as they were seated Katie continued on. "He's OK by the way."

"Who?" he asked curiously.

She took a moment to tell the woman what she wanted (and so did he) before she answered, "Rome."

"When did you speak to Rome?"

"He visits his mum," she explained. "He came over while I was there and we talked."

He nodded and awkwardly fiddled with his thumbs. "I hope you're not causing too much trouble for June."

"No, Rome brings over some meals for her to heat up so she doesn't have to do much," Katie smiled. "I do everything else myself."

"Good," he nodded.

"Why did you and Rome fall out?"

"Rome doesn't like my new job," he told her honestly.

"Why not?"

"He doesn't like cops..."

"But they're the good guys."

"Yeah, baby," he agreed. "But we didn't always think that way."

"What sort of trouble did you get into?"

"Nothing you need to know about."

"It wasn't the crash, was it?" She touched her scar as she asked.

He shook his head. "No, kiddo. Yes that was bad but it started before that."

"Bri, tell me."

"OK," he sighed with defeat. "Do you remember when I would go out at night and leave you with June?"

She nodded. "You always came home late."

"Yeah," he smiled. "Well I was racing."

"Like that show you watch on TV?" she asked excitedly.

"Not exactly," he chuckled. "That race I watch on TV is legal, which means you're allowed to do it. You're not allowed to do the kind of racing I used to do. It's dangerous."

"How is it dangerous?"

"They race on a track in that TV show, right?" She nodded. "Well, we use the streets as our tracks."

"What about the other cars?"

"We usually block off the streets, there's only our cars."

"Don't sound very dangerous..."

He grinned a little at that. "Well it is, so no racing like I did, OK?"

"You went away for a while," she recalled.

He scratched the back of his head, he'd forgotten about that. "Yeah, Rome and I did some things to pay for a car."

"What was it?"

"Now you definitely don't need to know, because you're never going to do something like it."

She gave a little nod before resting her head on her hand. Their food came and she ate it quietly with no complaints. Brian watched her curiously as he ate his own food. She knew him through and through, he couldn't get a thing past her. He was confident that she knew all about his life, even before she was born, but Katie being Katie she would always allow Brian to tell her himself.

He loved his sister for that. She made others feel like they were the ones with the power, and she always put them first. He found it hard to believe that she was only ten. It seemed that she had chosen to grow up a little after seeing their parents for the last time and the crash. Brian wished she didn't have to but at the same time he was thankful. Sure he had June to look after Katie but it was still a struggle looking after a ten year old alone.

Suddenly his phone rang and he looked down at it. It was his new boss.

"Hello?"

"O'Conner?"

"Yes, sir."

"Welcome to the force."

"Thank you, sir... And not to sound rude or anything, but I didn't think we'd all get a call from you..."

"Not all of you did." A long pause, giving time for Brian's mind to wander. "We're happy to welcome all of you, I spoke to everyone at the ceremony but I must have missed you."

"Is there another reason why you're calling?" Brian asked curiously.

"I have a job," he explained slowly. "And I was going through the files... You're the best candidate."

"Oh."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow and we'll discuss it?"

"Uh... Sure... Thanks... Bye, sir."

He hung up the phone and slowly set it on the table. His hand wandered back to his fork and he slowly went back to eating. What sort of job could it be? He was just a rookie, could they really offer him a job already? He started to wonder if it was just some kind of sick joke that happened to some poor unsuspecting rookie each year.

* * *

__

R&R


	10. Aged 25 - Part 1

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**  
**Aged 25 Part 1**

**A/N: **_So this is the first chapter about the first film! So I must say that there are some lines that you will recognise from the film, I DO NOT OWN THESE. Trust me if I owned anything to do with the Fast and the Furious series, I wouldn't be here. I'd be making the next film. So yeah. But it will be slightly different from the film in some places though :)_

* * *

Turned out at that job was an undercover one. A man named Tanner from the LAPD had contacted Brian's boss looking for someone to take the job. They had no one suitable as their rookies hadn't graduated yet, and the cops with experience couldn't be used because they were too old to blend in. Brian was the perfect age and even after practice he would still be the right age. It helped a hell of a lot too that he knew a lot about cars. His mark was a man named Toretto and his team. They owned a garage and a diner as well as the family home. But under it all they raced, just like Brian used to. The cops wanted them for hijacking trucks, but there was no proof meaning Brian had to get in with the team and find it. After he was told about it he was put through a class, some "undercover 101" type thing.

Months and months later, once the training was over he sat down with Katie and told her about it all. At the age of twenty-four he never thought he would be going undercover, and he never thought he would be telling his eleven year old sister that he couldn't stay with her anymore. She knew how to look after herself pretty well so June had no problem looking after her. Following that he moved to LA, took the job they'd set up, practiced his driving skills and watched the Toretto's 'til he found a way in.

* * *

Brian walked across the street. His stomach turned as he stepped closer and closer. He knew he had to do this job, it would give him credit, a higher status in the force. The one thing he hated about the job was Mia. She was pretty and smart, and besides his sister, probably the nicest person he'd ever met. In no way did he feel anything romantic for her but he knew she'd get hurt. Something he didn't want.

She rolled her eyes as he walked in. "Tuna on white. No crust, right?"

He tried not to smile. He had been watching them for months but recently he had been interacting with them. Gradually pushing himself closer into their small circle. "I don't know. How is it?"

He got the same look he always got from her. "Every day for the last three weeks you've been coming in here and you've been asking me how the tuna is. Now, it was crappy yesterday, it was crappy the day before and guess what? It hasn't changed."

"I'll have the tuna," he grinned.

Again there was that roll of her eyes. "No crust?"

He nodded, grin still in place. "No crust."

When she placed the sandwich in front of him he ate it quietly. She sat a little way off reading her magazine. He watched her curiously, something that become a habit. He knew he should spend all his attention on Dom, but he never did now. He would just flicker his eyes to Dom every so often. The older Toretto sat at the back in the small office. His back was hunched over his paper work. Brian knew that Dom was watching him too, the older Toretto was a little bit paranoid.

Brian was almost finished with the sandwich when he heard the unmistakable sound of the team's engines. He couldn't help but tense a little. The smaller member of the team, Jesse, seemed harmless enough, same with Leon, but Vince was a hot head. That was clear. Although Brian was sure that Vince hated him because of Mia. Letty was the member of the team that Brian was always unsure of. The fact that she was a girl didn't fool him, she could be as hot headed as Vince when worked up.

As they entered Brian caught the tail end of their conversation, something about trying to get into Mia's pants, but it seemed Mia didn't hear it or chose not to. Letty, Leon and Jesse walked towards the back. Leon and Jesse went to the stand holding sunglasses while Letty made her greeting to Dom. Brian didn't have a chance to think about it as Vince rested on the counter and tried to grab Brian's attention.

_Breathe_, Brian told himself. He knew Vince was a hothead, but he still wanted to punch him sometimes.

They stared each other down 'til Mia called Vince's name. Brian was the first to look away but then eventually Vince did. Like he always did he managed to slip in a compliment to Mia. Brian couldn't help but look back at him. Feeling annoyed with the same old drama he got up, fishing for some money in his pockets. He thanked her, laid the money on the counter and promised to see her the next day. But as he walked out he knew it wouldn't end there.

He could hear Vince tapping the table till he snapped. He shouted and moved to follow Brian who kept walking. "Try Fat Burger from now on. You can get yourself a cheese and fries for 2.95, faggot!"

Brian told himself again to remain calm as he turned around, face neutral. "I like the tuna here."

"Bullshit asshole, no one likes the tuna here!" Not a complete lie, Brian couldn't deny it, he did like it but it wasn't the best he'd ever had. It became a way to start conversations with Mia whenever he dropped by.

**"**Yeah well I do."

This time he didn't even turn around but that only pushed Vince further. Suddenly Brian was pushed into the side of his car. That was the cutting line for him. He whipped round and landed a punch, causing Vince to fall back. The two of them wrestled and Brian thought the fight was a little week. He cursed himself for getting distracted as Vince pinned him to the ground and started punching. But he managed to flip it round as he moved far enough to knee Vince.

Brian rolled away as Vince did. The two of them both clambered to their feet but Vince charged before Brian could completely find his feet. They fell to the floor again but Brian refused to let Vince have the upper hand again. He managed to pin Vince this time but he only landed one punch before the back of his shirt was grabbed.

_Shit_, Brian thought as he was slammed back into a car.

His eyes grew wide when he saw that it was Dom who had broken up the fight. He instantly raised his hands in defence. Brian tired to defend his actions but he knew it was in vain, no way Toretto would pick his side, an outsider. But Brian didn't expect the reaction he got. After confirming his name to Dom and that he worked for Harry Dom made no hesitation in telling him he was fired.

* * *

Brian knew he had to get in with Dom's team now or never. He had managed to keep his job at Racer's Edge which meant he could get his hands on any parts he wanted and needed for the race. He practiced and practiced as best as he could. It would be his shot to prove to Dom that he was good enough to be trusted. After all his practice he called June again to check in on Katie, but like always she was busy with school stuff. Brian knew that she was pissed off even if she wouldn't admit it.

He knew he had to win. The sooner he did the sooner he could get in with Dom, get him sent down and return home to his little sister. The longer he was away the harder it would be to get her back. She was only twelve but he knew how much trouble yet interesting she may prove to be in her early teenage years, so he didn't want to miss too much. But Brian didn't win his race, he _almost_ beat Toretto but he didn't. He went too crazy on the NOS, but surprisingly it got him Toretto's respect. Especially after he saved his life from Tran and his group of no gooders.

Brian looked at the burnt out car with surprise. Tran was ruthless, maybe he was the one the cops were after? But he knew that was wishful thinking. Dom shifted his jacket like nothing had happened and headed towards the exit. Brian jogged to keep up and nervously walked beside Dom. He shook his head, willing some confidence to come.

"What was the deal back there?"

Dom glanced sideways at him. "It's a long story."

_Paranoid_. So Brian tried to convince him. "We have a twenty mile hike. Humor me."

That seemed to peek an interest. "A business deal that went sour. Plus I made the mistake of sleeping with his sister."

"When was that?" Brian asked curiously as they headed down the street.

"Senior year."

"Shit, long time ago... He's still that pissed?"

"Nah, she's still that pissed," Dom chuckled. "Won't let him forget it. It's the business deal that gets him worked up."

"You and Letty...?"

"After that," he nodded. "From what I gather she liked me before that though."

Brian nodded, seeing that the topic bothered him. "So, when you gonna pay me back for my car?"

"It's my car, remember?"

"I thought you hadn't taken delivery yet?" he smirked.

Dom rolled his eyes but the smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, alright. Still owe me a ten second car."

"Should've taken that one when you got the chance."

"And let your ass walk home?"

Brian raised an eyebrow. "What do you think we're doing now?"

"You're alright," Dom chuckled. "Even if your name is Spliner."

* * *

_R&R_


	11. Aged 25 - Part 2

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**

**Aged 25 Part 2**

**A/N: **_You know the film so I'm not going to drag it out! This is the second chapter based on the first film. The chapter after this is based on the second film though._

* * *

_What am I doing? _Brian asked himself as he told Mia to take control of the car.

After that night with Tran he had gained Dom's trust easily except from a few hiccups here and there. He knew he had it for sure when Dom told him about his dad, didn't completely freak out when he started to date Mia and when he was allowed to work at the garage. Problem with all those things was that Brian started to question himself majorly. He started to know these people, knew how they worked, and he started to feel like one of them. Could he really end it? He tried in vain to convince his bosses it was Tran but that was a dead end. It really was Toretto.

He knew it at Race Wars which was when he had told Mia the truth. His heart crumbled at the pain on her face when she realised she'd been used. But she hadn't. He really did love her. He never meant to but he did, he couldn't help it. He would blow this whole job just to be with her but he needed to stop them, if not for his job then for the team's safety. With those truckers taking matters into their own hands anything could happen.

And that's how he found himself on top of his car. The one the team had helped him build, even Mia. He prayed he could pull this off, so that he could at least prove to Mia his feelings were true. As they got close enough he jumped, landing on the side of the truck with Vince. He shouted at him to not let go as he unwrapped the wire. Brian tried to ignore how it cut into Vince's skin.

But he got him off and helped him jump to the car. Brian breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe things would be OK. At least Vince and the others wouldn't die. That had to be good right? Even with prison sentence lurking nearby. The sound of a gun being locked into place brought him back. He looked to see the gun being aimed at him. He jumped just as the shot fired, only just missing.

"Shit," he hissed as he landed on the car and it skidded off the side of the road. He slipped off the side of it as it came to a stop.

"Vince!" Mia yelled.

"Get him over here," Brian told her.

They got Vince away from the car and laid him down. Brian used his shirt to apply pressure to the gunshot wound. "Tend to his arm."

"What do I do?"

"Try and stop the bleeding... Tie something around his arm."

She started to panic so he moved away. He worked with what he had and managed to tie Vince's arm off but the blood kept coming. As Vince started to cough and struggle he felt himself panic. He shouted for Vince to hang in there, anything to keep him alive till the paramedics arrived, if they could get them there fast enough. He felt himself sigh with relief as Dom arrived, it seemed to calm down Mia too.

"If we don't get him to an ambulance in ten minutes, he's dead." No time to sugar coat it now.

Dom looked terrified, muttering to himself. Brian had never seen him like it. He honestly looked like he wasn't sure what to do.

"Hold this. Hold the pressure." Mia took hold of the strap around Vince's arm and pulled it, holding it in place as tight as possible. Dom used his shirt to put pressure on the gun shot wound. "Just like that. Don't let go, hold the arm up."

"Vince!" Mia called.

Brian took a second to breath. He had Dom in a position where he would be safe to bust his secret. He licked his lips as he got out his phone and dialed. As he held it to his ear his breathing picked up even more and he could hardly hear anything over the sound of his own heart beating.

"Yeah. Yeah, this is officer Brian O'Conner."

That got Dom's attention.

"I'm off duty MAPD. I need a life flight roll out right away."

Brian couldn't take his eyes off of Dom especially as Dom started to rise.

"My twenty is highway eighty-six, mile marker one forty seven. I got one trauma victim, about twenty-four years of age. Six-foot, maybe two hundred pounds."

Dom was practically growling now and Brian had never felt more afraid as he did in that moment. He knew he was a dead man and the growing anger on Dom's face just proved that.

"He's got a deep laceration to his right arm with arterial bleeding." He could see Dom glance at Mia and she slowly shook her head. "And he's got a gunshot wound close range to his left flank."

He was pretty sure that all this talking just made Dom even angrier. Of course Dom couldn't see a guy trying to save his friend, no he saw a cop. And every little bit that Dom moved showed just how much he was thinking about it. But suddenly things got worse again.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's going into shock!"

For the first time Dom looked away from Brian. He grabbed his shirt again and applied it to Vince's side. Brian dropped his phone and helped Mia to keep Vince's arm elevated. No way he was letting him die now. They were all here because of him. If he had just turned them in or told them sooner then none of this would have happened. They would all be fine and healthy and happy.

Brian felt some relief wash over him as the sound of the helicopter approached. As it landed he could still feel Dom watching him. But as the helicopter landed he ignored it. Dom and Mia moved away as the paramedics came closer and Brian relayed the information before helping them to stabilise him and get him into the helicopter. As he closed the door and walked away Brian found Mia staring back at him, her expression unreadable.

In the distance Leon shouted as Dom walked closer to the road. Mia kept looking between her family and Brian until Dom shouted for her and she went running. He knew it was pointless but Brian prayed she'd chose him. Or at least refuse to leave him behind. He hoped she believed that he loved her, because he did and he felt his heart break in two as she walked away from him.

Brian shook his head and moved away so that the helicopter could take off. As he looked Dom, Mia, Leon and Letty drove away in the only car left (besides his). He sighed with defeat, mind still racing and dug out his phone.

"June?"

"Brian, is that you?"

"Yes," he whispered. "I know it's been a while since I called but is she there?"

"She's at her friends house, sleepover."

"Fuck," Brian growled.

"Now what's caused that sort of language?"

"The job I'm doing is starting to go a little south," he admitted. "Some stuff happened, and I guess I just realised how much of a crappy brother I've been."

"I'm not going to disagree or a agree with that."

"No twelve year old should be left by her parents _and_ big brother," he admitted sadly.

"You did what you thought was right, I believe that."

"Does she?"

"She tries to understand, but she's not a kid anymore. She's got friends who talk about their families all the time, she's growing up, Brian."

"Will you tell her I called?" he asked hopefully. "Maybe explain to her little? If she wants to talk to me then that's good, if she doesn't I'll always call but I won't force her to speak to me."

"I'll try my best, honey."

"Thanks," he mumbled. "I'll call as soon as all this gets sorted. Shouldn't be too long, OK?"

"No rush, just make sure you call at some point."

He nodded to himself as he hung up the phone. He got back in his car intent on going back to find Dom before he did something stupid. Jesse was still out there after all.

* * *

Brian watched as Dom drove away. He knew it didn't fix anything but it sure as hell pushed it to the back of the pile for a while. The sound of the sirens got louder and louder and Brian wished he could worm his way out of this one. As the cars flooded the scene he kept near the totaled Charger. His boss came up to him and he sighed.

"Where's Toretto?"

He considered shrugging but he knew it wouldn't be a sufficient answer. "He took my keys."

"Just took them did he?"

"Well he couldn't take his own car could he?" He motioned to the Charger. "Look, we both know what Toretto can be like when he gets angry, so yeah I didn't exactly put up a fight when he tried to take my keys."

"Nah," one of the cops yelled. "He's on their side now, all so he can bang that pretty little Toretto."

Brian tried to get at him but he was held back. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Is this true?"

No, sir."

"O'Conner you better not lie to me."

"I'm not," he growled. "Sure I don't want anything to happen to Mia but Mia was never involved in what her brother and his friends did. She was innocent in all of this, but they weren't."

"Go get cleaned up, we'll come by and talk to you later."

He didn't bother to respond, but only walked away, refusing the lift that was offered. He just walked, and kept on doing it 'til he was far enough away. He waited for the local bus and managed to jump on. He flashed his badge, earning him the chance to ride for free. He stayed near the back, mind wondering to Mia. He hoped that maybe he got too worked up and he didn't love her but that reaction back there only proved that he did. When he wasn't thinking about Mia he thought about Katie and how she seemingly hated him.

When he got to his stop he quickly jumped off. He jogged up the street to the little safe house the cops had granted him in case he needed to lay low for a bit. He had a place that he could show to Dom and the others if they got curious and wanted to know but this was the place where he could keep his gear and really relax. He pushed through the small place and into the cubicle size bathroom.

"You fucked up this time," he told himself as he looked in the mirror. "Rome was right."

And he was. Being a cop was the biggest mistake that Brian ever made. Well, maybe not being a cop but the job itself. He had a bad feeling, and he should have refused the job. He couldn't deny that being a cop like he dreamed of as a kid was amazing, but he never expected to be the person he hated as a teen. He pulled his badge off. He opened up the medicine cabinet and hung the the chain of the badge on it. He then unclipped his gun and laid it in the sink. He was officially leaving the force.

"Back to the old life, Brian," he whispered quietly.

* * *

_R&R_


	12. Aged 26

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner**

**Aged 26**

End of twenty-six, close to twenty-seven and he was already back under law enforcement's nose. After getting away from LA he moved around a bit before settling in Miami, staying on a boat in fact. He met a guy named Tej who practically ran the race scene in any sense... Cars, jet ski's, you name it. He called June at least twice a month to talk to Katie but each time the stubborn girl refused to. But Brian kept giving messages in the hope that she would talk to him at some point.

He got back into racing too and he became king of the Miami streets, but naturally he was caught up with. At first he thought it was for what happened back in LA but instead it was for a new job. He did that job and he was free to go, no hassle from the cops again. This gave him the chance to get back in Rome's good books. It hadn't gone well at first but eventually (slowly but surely) he had his friend back again. And he'd never say it out loud but he missed him like mad.

They both went undercover this time but again cover was blown. Brian just seemed to attract trouble, and he hated it. But they pulled off the job and even got to go home with more than they were offered. They convinced the cops that everything was there before Brian revealed to Rome that his pockets weren't empty and Rome did the same thing. At least they both knew how to steal things now.

"So, what are we going to do with this?" Rome asked, indicating the money.

"Garage."

That caught Rome's attention. He leaned forward. "Excuse me?"

"I need Katie back but I need stability," Brian sighed. "We buy a garage. We'll get some income, places to stay then I'll get Katie back."

"Well, we better get started then!"

They discussed Katie for a bit as they made their way back to Tej's. He'd offered them a bed for the night at least. Brian told him all about the job in LA and how he had slowly slipped away from Katie.

* * *

About three days later they both got a place each. Rome settled for a two bedroom apartment with great detail paid to the kitchen. Brian got a three bedroom one in the hopes that Katie would take a bedroom, leaving a spare one. He decorated it and he left both spare rooms bare so that Katie could pick and decorate one when she came. A couple of days after that they found the building they wanted for the garage.

The boys raced most of the time so they were able to keep the money at steady level. They got everything they needed to convert the empty space into a garage. They partnered up with Tej's garage so that they wouldn't have to fight over customers. And when they did the customers flooded in. Everyone on the race scene was willing to go to either garage to get their cars fixed.

"What did she say?"

Brian shook his head as Rome walked into the shop. "She still isn't talking to me. But she's listening to your mum when she talks about me, so that's a start."

"Yeah, just let her get used to the idea of of you again."

"And if she doesn't?"

"You adore that girl," Rome assured. "And I wasn't there either, we both fucked up but she'll come round."

"I hope your right."

"Come on, man, don't think about it. In fact, close up, it's getting late and we have to go."

"There's no race tonight."

"Nope but Tej is having a party," Rome grinned. "Suki said she'll kick your ass if you don't come."

Brian rolled his eyes and got up, muttering about how he'd like to see her try. The two of them drove their cars the short journey to their places, Brian making a promise to come. When Brian got back to his he almost went back on that promise but he pushed himself to take a shower. After which he pulled on a pair of jeans and lose fitting jeans before rushing back out to his car.

When he arrived at Tej's the music was blaring and people were all over the place. He pushed through the crowd 'til he found Rome and the others. He took the beer handed to him and finished it in seconds. He took another and ignored Rome's comments as he moved through to find a girl to dance with. Something that only took a few seconds.

"I'm Amelia."

"Hmm," he mumbled against her skin as he kissed her neck.

He'd started the whole one night stand thing recently. He hadn't been able to hold down anything serious since Mia, he'd come close with Monica but never quite got that. His mind always seemed to wonder back to Mia and it put him off having a serious relationship.

As he came back to reality he realise he was being dragged into one of the bedrooms. He didn't complain as he was pushed onto the bed and Amelia crawled on top of him. He gripped her hips as she kissed him and rubbed herself against him. He went to flip them round but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

_Mia_.

She was stood in the corner of the room. She was leaning agains the wall, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. She looked slightly older but pretty much the same as the last time he saw her.

"Shit," he hissed.

"You like that?"

He became painfully aware that Amelia was kissing and nipping his neck. He moved her up so he could kiss her properly, anything to make Mia disappear, but she didn't.

_You're not real_, he thought angrily.

"Maybe not," Mia agreed. "But I'm not going anywhere."

_Why not?_

"Because you don't want me to," she said simply.

_Trust me I want you to._

"Then make me go away," she chuckled. "It's your imagination after all."

_What do you want?_

"It's your mind, you tell me."

_You want me to admit that I wished this was you?_

Mia eyed Amelia as she unbuttoned Brian's shirt. "Well that would be a start."

_Well it can't be you._

"Why not?"

_My mind isn't this stupid... _

"Have you even asked me?" Mia grinned. "The real me..."

_Well no, but the real you would say no._

"How do you know?"

_I guess I don't..._

"Maybe you should," she shrugged. "Same with Katie."

_Excuse me?_

"Try harder, O'Conner," she smirked. "Go and see Katie instead of just calling her. And as for me, at least call, then take it from there."

_What if_- But Mia was gone.

He came to realise that Amelia had made her way down his body. She was pulling down his jeans and boxers. He pushed her off, ignoring her complaints as he pulled his jeans and boxers back up. He didn't hesitate in leaving and pushing himself trough the crowd, 'til he was outside and heading to his car.

"Bri, wait up!" He didn't slow that much as Rome ran up beside him. "Where are you going?"

"Home to pack."

"Why?" Rome asked, confused.

"I'm going to go and see Katie, it's long over due."

"Wait up and I'll come with you."

"No," Brian said quickly, finally stopping. "I need to go alone for now, plus there's other stuff I need to do."

He walked away, hearing Rome shouting for him. He hailed down a passing taxi, knowing that he'd had too much to drink. He could see Rome catch up with him just as he got into the taxi. He would talk to him in the morning after he'd slept a couple of hours and before he would need to leave to get his car. It was time to step up.

* * *

_R&R_


	13. Aged 28

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 28**

**A/N: **_hey, kinda not feeling up to it still, haven't been for the past couple of chapters so sorry if there's any mistakes in this. I really don't like this chapter but I felt like it needed to be in here. the next chapter looks at how Brian and Letty's meeting about the Braga case might have gone._

* * *

Brian had gone home like he planned to that night in Miami. June had accepted him with open arms but it had taken Katie the better part of a year, he couldn't really blame her. But they worked through it enough that she started talking to him properly, like she used to when she was a kid. She was still a little closed off but he had his sister back, this continued on for a little over a year. There birthday's had also been close so for his twenty-eighth and her fifteenth he was going to throw her a party. He'd pissed a lot recently and the last two years had gone better than he thought they would, but then he heard her plans.

She had applied to some schools across America, intent on seeing a different part. A boarding school in New York were willing to offer her a scholarship (this was the first time that Brian discovered that she was good at art, just like had been). She had about three years left of school give or take so the school wouldn't have to pay for much, probably a big factor on whys he got it. The school would open up a lot of opportunities but it would mean that Brian would never see her. In the end he let her go though.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he whispered.

"Bri, don't."

"Come on, Katie, I'm just doing your job."

"Well don't," she snapped. "You can't just come back and do your job, you need to earn that right and you haven't. I'm doing this whether you like it or not."

"Baby..."

"Don't," she sighed. "Either help me back or get out."

He did as he was told, packing things into boxes and labeling them for her. He wasn't going to lose her completely again, so if her moving was what she needed to do then he was going to support that.

* * *

Weeks passed by, he had stuck around and Brian at first didn't know what to do with himself. He called Katie once every two weeks, always on a Sunday, the only day she seemed to be around to take the call. Occasionally she would call him first but that was rare. After the few five weeks he knew he had to do something, he had chosen then to go back to the force. He didn't know why he chose it but he only knew that he needed to. This time he spoke with Rome and they talked it through, Rome surprisingly agreeing that it was the best choice.

Surprisingly his old boss Tanner gave him a good word and he was accepted into the force. He had to prove himself a hell of a lot but he managed to do it in the end. He was always put on the crappier jobs but he didn't mind. This job might be the thing to keep him on the straight and narrow for good. It was about time he got his life back on track like he planned. And after settling into his job he decided it was time to sort out his past.

* * *

The trailer looked just like it had almost ten years ago. He stepped across the messy yard 'til he reached the door. He knocked loudly. Footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. He prayed it was his mother and not his dad. But when the door opened it was his old man.

"Can I help you?"

Brian sighed at the smell of alcohol, he looked terrible. "Hey, Dad."

"Brian?" Charles squinted at his son. "That you?"

"Yeah, you gonna let me in?"

"Do what the fuck you like."

Brian groaned as his Dad stumbled back into the trailer. Brian followed and watched as he fell onto his old chair and picked the can back up off the floor. He was just an older and uglier version of what Brian remembered. It was amazing that he was still alive after all this time.

"Where's what's her face?" Charles burped.

"Katie?"

"Was it Katie?" he frowned. "The other one of you."

"Yeah," Brian ground out. "Katie."

"Yeah, where is she?"

"Left for boarding school a few weeks back."

Charles chuckled suddenly. "Always said she weren't my kid. Too quiet, and apparently smart too. Although you were quiet and look how you turned out."

Without thinking Brian stepped forward and grabbed his old man by the collar. He threw Charles up against the wall, holding him there. When he started to chuckle Brian threw back his arm and punched him repeatedly. The chuckling never stopped, best guess was that he was too drunk to even comprehend what was happening to him. But Brian kept punching anyway. The way he heard it was that his Dad never cared at all about him or Katie, and that he was accusing his Mum of cheating, more than once.

"Never talk about either of them like that again, ya hear?" Brian warned.

"Why not?" he hiccuped. "What are they gonna do?"

Brian went to talk but his mind cut him off. Where was she? "Dad... Where's Ma?"

"Six feet under," he slurred.

"No, no," Brian argued. "Try again."

"Six feet under."

"When?"

"Few months ago," Charles shrugged.

Brian dropped him and took a few steps back. He numbly exited the trailer and headed over to his car. In a haze he headed over to the church, it was the only one near by so if his Mum really was dead and buried they would know. He cursed himself for not going back. Sure his Mum had turned away from him and Katie but she was never like his Dad, she was better so she deserved something at least, not to die alone.

When he arrived at the church the priest was more than happy to help him. They searched the files and it was true. His Mum had died six months previously. He tried the hospital when the church couldn't tell him what had happened exactly. There he found out that it had been deemed an accident after weeks of investigation. Apparently she fell down the stairs of the trailer when she was leaving and hit her head off of the many rocks outside, but Brian knew better than that.

After his visit he headed straight back home, he knew if he went back to the trailer he'd do something he would regret. No way his Mum had an accident, his old man was behind it and he knew it. With no past and seemingly no future Brian made a promise to himself to change that once and for all as he raced down the road.

* * *

_R&R_


	14. Aged 30

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 30**

Brian made his way through the FBI building in LA. He fixed his suit jacket as he walked, intent on going home and having a couple of hours sleep to refresh himself. As he walked he made a mental tick list. He'd already finished his paper work, he'd sat in on the meetings about the Braga case and he'd made his call to Katie on his lunch break. He smiled at the last one, they'd gotten into a daily routine now. Every day he would call her on his lunch break then again at night. The latter was a hit and miss usually, but if she didn't pick up he would leave her a voicemail and they'd discuss it the next day at lunch. The thing he needed to do now that he had done that call was to sleep, get in some shopping and work on some leads they had for the Braga case.

"O'Conner."

He groaned and turned around. "Yes, Sir?"

"You asked about some time off?"

"Hmm," Brian mumbled. "But I got told with the Braga case still open I'd be very unlikely to get it."

"That's true," he agreed. "But then I heard that you have a little sister. Seventeen right?" Brian nodded. "Well, tell you what… You've been a big help on this case O'Conner, you help me get closer to Braga and I'll give you three months off, paid and everything."

Brian felt his jaw drop. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You've been a big help with this case and I'm hoping this will spur you on."

Brian only nodded as he was left standing alone. He shook his head and continued to walk out of the building, only stopping a couple of times to say a quick goodbye or drop off some files.

As he stepped outside he took a deep breath. He'd told the agents time and time again that they were sending in the wrong people, they were inexperienced. That's why they were getting killed so easily, there was no indicated that any of them had even tried to get away. Brian tried time and time again to make them see and they were only just listening now. A lot of the other agents just thought of him as the kid who messed up a few years back.

Brian kept on walking, unaware of his surroundings so it was no surprise that he bumped into something, or someone. He caught her before she fell. He stepped away quickly not wanting her to freak out. He brushed his suit off before adjusting it and looking up.

"Would you watch where the hell you're going?" she snapped.

"Letty?"

She looked at him properly and he with her. She looked different, both in a good way and a bad way. He noticed that her hair was longer and she looked a lot more grown up than he remembered. But she was pale and looked tired, like she hadn't eaten or slept in a long time.

"Are you OK?" he stuttered.

"No, I'm not OK!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I haven't slept properly in a while."

"What's happened?"

"Well, I won't go too far back, I'm sure you haven't forgotten what you did."

He shook his head. "Of course not, I think about it all the time."

"Well we went to Mexico which was great but then Dom disappeared so I was left with Leon," she sighed. "Leon didn't want to come back to LA but someone needed to check on Mia so I went."

"Oh, erm… How is she?"

"Good, she's getting pretty good with all that medical jargon."

Letty moved to sit on a nearby bench. Brian smiled at the thought of Mia doing something good with her life. "Go on…"

"I was thrown into a state of depression, the only thing that kept me going was fixing that stupid Charger." She chuckled slightly and nervously ran her hand through her hair. "Then I got word about Dom, I tracked him to the DR but he left again… Now I have no idea where he is and I'm stuck back here."

Brian didn't know what came over him but the FBI side of his mind started to work. Plus if his plan went off well then he could set some things right. "Letty, I may have a way to help you…"

She eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"I might be able to help you but I need to talk to my boss first."

"I'll do it."

"You don't even know what it is," he said uneasily.

"I don't care," she said desperately. "I need Dom back."

Brian only nodded, seeing how much she wanted it. They traded numbers and as she walked away he turned back and headed into the FBI building.

* * *

Brian sat the small café table with Letty across from him. She looked worse than when he saw her almost a week ago. She was fidgeting with her cup and he suddenly became unsure about involving her in all of this.

"Would you just spit it out," she growled.

"We're trying to take down a man named Braga," he explained. "But every undercover we've sent in has come back dead. I think they weren't experienced enough."

"And where do I come in?"

"I think you are experienced enough."

"Fine, what do I need to do?"

He reached over and wrapped his hands around hers. She glared up at him but he refused to look away. "First you need to get back into a routine. Sleep and eat more. I'll work with you in terms of driving and using a gun. I'll teach you everything you need to know about the case. But you have to take care of yourself. I need the Letty I met before this."

"And if I don't?"

"You're off the case, no deal."

"And what is the deal exactly?" she asked curiously.

"You help us to take down Braga and we no longer go after Dom," he said simply.

"Then I'll do whatever it takes."

"Good," he smiled. "I know waiting is probably hard but I need you to wait another week, maybe less. Start with getting sleep and food underway, if I see progress when we meet again then I'll definitely start training."

"Do I get a new car?"

He grinned despite himself. "Any one you want."

* * *

Another week past and Brian met up with Letty again. They chose to meet at Brian's place so Mia would never have to find out. Instantly he could see a positive change in Letty. She looked a little fuller in the cheeks and it looked like she'd been sleeping better. When he questioned her she said the thought of having Dom back gave her back her appetite and helped her to sleep. That was all he needed to start the training. She was able to work on her driving when they weren't together so when they were they settled for fighting.

"And now you'd be dead."

She cursed angrily. She could feel his gun pressed against the back of her head. She'd been sneaking through the apartment to find something he'd hidden. As she passed the closet door she didn't think to check it so he was able to sneak out and place the gun against her head.

"This is stupid," she complained.

"No, it's necessary," he countered. "I know you can stand your ground and fight but you need to know more."

"How is this going to help?"

"My agents all got killed at the same time, on the night of the job," he explained. "I'm hoping you'll be experienced enough to take him down before that."

"I can handle myself," she muttered angrily.

"Maybe, maybe not," he shrugged. "But do you want to take that risk?"

"I guess not."

"Then back in formation."

She muttered angrily but moved to exit the house again. Brian waited for her to leave before he found somewhere new to hide.

This carried on for almost a month. Letty got better and better to the point where he couldn't even tell she'd snuck through the house. He even changed the locations to other houses and building constantly so she'd have to work on instinct and not memory, even then she got in and out with no trouble. He checked on her driving skills and her target practice with the gun he managed to get her. After she was ready he took her for a medical check-up to see if she truly was.

* * *

_One month later…_

Brian reached out for his phone, hoping this was the call. Letty had been undercover for a month now. She had done the race in the first week and gotten in but some things went down and Braga almost stopped the job. She spent two weeks not knowing so she hung out in a club he was always present at and hung around with some people who knew him. Then the fourth week came by and the job was back on.

"Hello?" The job was the night before and he knew he wouldn't get word straight away. He glanced at his clock, early hours of the morning.

"O'Conner, we need you to come in."

"Did we get him?" he asked, a little excited at the thought. "Did she get him?"

"No… We didn't get him."

"Alright, I'll come and talk to her."

"Brian…"

He froze at the tone, it was soft, hesitant. "Sir… What's happened?"

"She… I really think you should come in."

He got off the bed and started to change. He knew something wasn't right and he knew it before. Letty hadn't called in a week and although there was surveillance he was worried about her but he did nothing. Brian regretted that now because he could tell there was something wrong.

"Tell me what happened."

"She's dead, O'Conner." Brian stumbled back and sat on the bed, trying his hardest to continue listening. "Just like the others. She almost got away but-"

Brian hung up the phone and screamed. This wasn't what he wanted, he was so sure that she could do it, she was different. Now he was sat trying to process the fact that Letty was dead. If he ever thought he'd be forgiven for his past he definitely wouldn't be now.

* * *

_R&R_


	15. Aged 32

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 32**

**A/N: **_Just to give you an idea of the ages here. Brian was 30 when he was helping Letty to train and was close to 31 when he finds out she died. He's 31 when the events of the fourth film. Now this is set just before they find Vince in the fifth film, he's 32 during this._

* * *

Brian sat in the front of the beaten car watching Mia carefully. Something was different about her but he couldn't quite place it. He thought back as far as possible, trying to remember when the change had first occurred. He remembered about how she had been cold and hating towards him when he first saw her again, then how things changed and she went back to being the Mia he knew the very first time he met her. He smiled at the thought. She was more mature now, less naïve but she was still the same fun, loving, kind person that he once knew.

When Dom was arrested she changed but that was different. She became more determined and wanted more than anything to keep her family together. So he helped her to get him off of that bus. But ever since they'd been on the run, and for the past few weeks they'd hardly eaten and barely slept. Brian suddenly questioned himself, maybe he was seeing things. But no, she was more drawn back now, but that determined look in her eyes was still there. So what had happened?

"Quit staring," she mumbled.

"I can't help it."

She smiled slightly. "I look terrible so yes you can."

"You look amazing," he whispered.

"What were you thinking about just now?"

"You."

"What about me?" she asked curiously.

"How we got here," he whispered. "How you've changed."

"For the better I hope."

He smiled slightly. "Yes."

"Can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly.

"Go on…"

"You've been sneaking off to make calls every so often, who are they to?"

"I'll tell you when we stop for a rest."

She didn't question it, especially when she saw him staring out of the window. So instead she kept on driving 'til they found a safe place to pull over for a couple of hours. As she parked the car and reclined her chair slightly she looked over at him.

For a while Brian stared out of the window. He had been reluctant to break Dom out because of Katie, he knew he would lose contact with her but the determination in Mia had him changing his mind. He thought back to the last conversation he had had with Katie, he hadn't spoken to her since and that was because he couldn't risk it.

_*flashback*_

_Brian drummed his fingers nervously as he waited for Katie to speak again. He had explained to her everything. The job in LA, the job in Miami and now the situation with Braga. He let her know that if he broke Dom out then he would have to disappear for a while. She had been silent for a good ten minutes._

_"Do you love her?"_

_He knew in an instant that she was talking about Mia. "Yes."_

_"Say it."_

_"I love her."_

_"Then I understand what you need to do," she sighed. "I trusted you so much when we were kids and I was stupid to stop. I don't like it but I understand. But you have to promise me that the second you can you call me and let me know you're safe."_

_"I will," he promised._

_"Can we talk for a bit?" she mumbled._

_"What are you doing now that you've left school?"_

_"I was thinking about travelling for a bit," she admitted. "See the world. My art is pretty good so I was hoping to sketch a few places, pick up some new ideas."_

_"I'd love to see your work one day."_

_"Do you think you'd be able to?"_

_"I'd like to hope so," he whispered._

_"I love you, Bri, I know I haven't said it for a while but I do."_

_He held the phone tighter and closed his eyes, willing himself to hold on and not cry. When he spoke his voice was strained from the effort. "Yeah, baby, I love you too."_

_"I almost got rid of my scar."_

_He unconsciously reached up and ran a finger down his face, exactly where the scar would be on Katie. "How come? Why'd you change your mind?"_

_"People kept staring and I wanted things to be different so I went to the hospital," she explained. "I found how much it would cost just in case my insurance wouldn't cover it. But while I was saving up I looked in the mirror properly one day and I remembered how I got it."_

_"I'm sorry," he mumbled._

_"No, don't be," she assured. "I remembered us, how worried you were and how you tried to change your life, make it better. And I suddenly couldn't bring myself to get rid of it."_

_"What about the staring?"_

_"Screw it," she laughed. "I love it. And I'm sorry that I've messed things up, or at least I didn't help. So you do this and you stay safe because we're going to be a family again, OK?"_

_He had to fight for concentration again, he wanted to believe so much that it would be true. "Yes, OK."_

_*end flashback*_

"It's my sister," he mumbled. "I've been bringing out my phone to make a call but I always back out. It's not safe and I can't let her get hurt because of me again."

"Your sister?" Mia gasped.

"Katie," he nodded. "She's nineteen, should be travelling the world now. She finished school a few months back and that's what she wanted to do."

"How come you've never mentioned her?"

"Well when we first met I couldn't," he sighed. "Then when we met again there was Braga and now this."

"How did she get hurt before?"

"I just kept letting her down," he mumbled. "But there was this one time… My friend Rome, there was reason to believe his mum was ill, which she was, and Katie had come to find us at a party. I thought I was fine to drive but… But we crashed and she got hurt."

"How hurt?"

"She's fine now, but she has scars, one very noticeable one." He traced where the scar would be on his face.

"Bri, I'm sorry."

"I miss her," he mumbled sadly. "I tried my hardest to make things up to her and we were getting somewhere. She went to New York for the last three or so years of school so I never saw her but we spoke every day and now…"

Mia's hand ghosted over her stomach for a moment. "Circumstances have changed but I'm still all about family, Brian. When we can we'll find her and bring her to us. I'd love to meet her."

Brian grabbed Mia and pulled her over to his side of the car. She let out a squeal as he kissed her. She sunk into it for a moment before pulling away. "What was that for?"

"I just really love you."

She kissed him quickly. "Good, because you're stuck with me."

"Does this mean you'll let me convert you into an O'Conner?"

She laughed a little at that. "When I can throw the biggest wedding in the world and don't have to hide it then yes you can."

"I'll hold you to that," he promised her.

* * *

_R&R_


	16. Aged 33

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 33**

**A/N: **_Note, I watched the Tourist recently (with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp), if you've seen it before then it should be obvious that I watched it recently by the name I've given to Brian and Mia's baby :p Also if you've seen it *high-five* I love that film! Also, sorry this one is so short, if I can I'll try to post the next chapter up a little later :)_

* * *

"Just breathe," Brian told her reassuringly.

"Shut up," Mia groaned.

"Come on Mia." He squeezed her hand as the doctor kept prompting her to push. "Just breathe through the pain, it'll help."

"How about I kick you in the balls and you breathe through that?" she hissed. "Tell me if it helps then."

He chuckled a little. "OK, OK, I know I don't understand but it'll be over soon."

He must have done something right because suddenly she was pushing again, determined as ever. He tried not to swear as her hand crushed his tightly. Brian promised himself not to complain until after the birth, then he'd swear to the high heavens about how much his hand hurt with Mia squeezing it.

A cry broke through and Mia fell back onto the bed. She took a deep breath before her head was back up searching for her baby. Brian craned his neck to see past the nurses but he couldn't see properly. The only thing that kept him calm was the crying.

Suddenly one of the nurses came forward, a bundle cradled in her arms. "It's a girl."

"A girl?" Mia whispered clearly in shock.

"Yes," the nurse smiled, handing the little girl to Mia's waiting arms.

Mia cooed over the baby. "You owe me ten bucks."

Brian groaned. He'd believed since the day he found out that it would be a boy but she believed it would be a girl. "Fine, I'll give it to you when we get home."

The nurse tried not to laugh at the situation. "Do you have a name?"

"Not yet," Mia admitted.

"No problem, just let us know when you've decided."

Mia gave a slight nod. Brian took the little girl from her while the nurses helped to clean her up and get her settled. Brian paced the room quietly, bouncing the little bundle in his arms every so often to help her sleep.

Brian plopped himself into the deckchair next to Mia. She glanced behind them to see Dom and Elena both sat on the porch with Elise cradled in his arms. She couldn't remember how or why they'd settled on the name but it felt right and as soon as it was suggested she couldn't get it out of her mind. Her little girl had been an Elise ever since. Elise Toretto-O'Conner to be exact.

"You should tell them, you know."

"Tell them what?" he mumbled, eyes closed as he relaxed.

"About Katie," she said softly. "You've told me everything about her."

"I don't know…"

"You did call her, right?"

"She changed her number," Brian explained. "Something about a guy she met who wouldn't leave her alone, so she changed her number to get rid of him."

"How do you know that?"

"I spoke to Rome's mum," he explained. "Rome was calling her before he left here. She said that if Katie called she could pass on a message, I told her about us and that we were safe for now but we were still trying to work things out."

"Then yes, I think you should tell them," Mia said sternly. "We can all work together and find her, at least set up some sort of contact so she's not entirely out of your life anymore."

"Only Dom and Elena for now," he sighed. "I'll tell the others a different time."

Mia gave him a small smile and got up. He took her out-stretched hand and let her lead him up towards the house. When they got there Dom and Elena looked up, both smiling 'til they saw the look on Brian's face.

As they sat down Dom and Elena looked between each other worriedly. Quietly Brian told them about Katie, who she was and what had happened between them. As he went on Mia took Elise from them, allowing Elena to grip Dom's hand as they listened. Dom's face showed no emotion as the story was told. And when Brian was finished they all sat there in silence.

"We'll find her," was all that Dom said.

* * *

_R&R_


	17. Aged 35

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 35**

Brian opened the door but stepped back in shock as he saw Han and Gisele on the other side. They both gave him a small smile as he let them in. The two of them shuffled in quietly, a bag each. Mia went to them instantly and hugged them tightly. Dom and Elena greeted them too, it had been a while. Han and Gisele had gone to Berlin but had chosen to settle there, getting themselves their own place and everything. This was the first they'd come back to see the others.

"Does he know?" Han asked Dom.

"No," Dom shook his head.

"Do I know about what?" Brian asked curiously.

Han sat down on the two seater and motioned for everyone to sit down too. "Dom told Gisele and I about your sister. He knew I could fit in pretty much anywhere so following up any lead would be no issue."

"Did you find her?" Brian found himself holding his breath.

"Yes," Han nodded. "She'd been travelling around a lot so it took us a while to get hold of her."

"What is she like?" Brian surprised himself, he always thought he'd ask 'where?' first but no, he wanted to know about her.

Gisele dug in her bag and brought out a file. She handed it to him. "These are some photos of her."

He opened up the file and a small gasp escaped him. She would be about twenty-two now and she looked it, no longer the younger girl he once knew. Her hair was shoulder length and blonde. Her eyes were a bright blue and her skin tanned, no doubt from travelling so much. She was thin but a healthy sort of thin. She looked happy, smiling in a lot of the photos.

"What does she do? How is she coping?"

"From what we can tell," Gisele said softly. "She had odd jobs while travelling, mostly waitress work or barmaid work. Now she works as waitress still but she's keeping up her art. We saw her at some galleries and talked to some people. Her waitress work is just to keep her by if she has a bad week or so with her art."

"She lives in a three bedroom house at the moment with one of the girls she works with," Han explained. "It's a nice looking place. Average yard and a decent car out front. She's coping really well by the looks of things."

"Where is she?" Brian finally asked.

Han looked at him, then at Mia, then to Dom and back at Brian again. "LA."

* * *

_Four months later…_

He would have gone straight after Katie, even if it was back in LA, he would have. He didn't care how dangerous it could prove, the thought of getting arrested was nothing, all Brian wanted was to see her again but he had no choice. Almost instantly after finding out about where she was Hobbs found them. At first he was going to not help with the job and concentrate on Katie but then he found out that Letty was still alive and that changed things.

For four months they worked with Hobbs to travel to London where they found out about Letty's new team run by a guy named Owen. They were taking down military convoys and had yet to be caught. Hobbs had chased them across countless countries with little to no luck. And that's how they ended up involved. They helped to track down and work against Owen's team. They'd all had some close calls but generally things went well. It took them four months but they took Owen down.

"I can't believe she's disappeared again," Dom growled angrily.

"I know," Brian agreed. "But at least we know she's alive, that she's OK. She'll come to us in her own time."

"Will she?" Dom demanded. "'Cause it looks to me that she's been trying so damn hard to stay away from us."

"She probably has her reasons, we just need to wait."

Dom let out a loud growl but quickly stopped his anger when he turned to see Mia glaring at him. "I don't know if you care, _Dominic, _but Elise is next door trying to sleep so you need to keep that temper of yours in check. If Letty wants to come home she will and you will not force her, you hear me?"

"But Mia-"

"No," she said sternly. "I want her back too but I will not force her to come home, she needs to want to come home. Now sort yourself out and go and give you niece a goodnight kiss so she knows you're OK."

Brian tried not to chuckle as Dom nodded his head and disappeared into Elise's bedroom. He went straight to Mia as soon as they were alone and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him, eyes closed, breathing gently.

"I don't want to force her but we will bring her home, right?"

"I won't stop 'til we do," he promised.

"I'm sorry about Katie," she mumbled. "You had to lose focus on her again."

"Well we have a clean slate now which means I can go to LA with no issue," he whispered. "Han kept his surveillance up and she's still there, still doing good."

"We should go," she said suddenly. "They can handle looking for Letty."

"No," he shook his head. "We'll find her then all go back as a family."

* * *

They found Letty a week later, hold up in hospital. She had some injuries from the final blow out and a fight she had with Owen beforehand. She was shocked to say the least when Hobbs didn't arrest her but offered her the clean slate too. The last bit shocked them all, they never expected to get that for her so easily. Hobbs explained that because she turned her back on Owen in the final fight she was technically on their side and deserved the same reward.

"What happened?" Brian mumbled as the team sat around Letty's hospital room, too afraid to talk. All the introductions had been made but Letty had stayed quiet.

"That bastard tried to kill me," she said simply.

"We know," Dom nodded, voice tight. "I killed him for killing you."

She glanced at him for a moment before looking away. "When I made the deal with Brian I got a couple of contacts of my own. I wasn't sure I could trust him so I wanted to be sure I was safe. One of them followed me, Abby her name is. She saw the wreck and pulled me out."

"So why did we all think you were dead?" Dom demanded.

"I slipped into a coma." It was barely a whisper and Dom seemed to calm down. "Abby didn't know much about you guys so she pulled some strings so that everyone believed I was in the car when it exploded. I came to about two months after the crash, after you'd already killed Braga and they'd broken you out of prison. There was nothing I could do just yet I…"

"You what?" Dom asked, but this time his voice was softer.

"Abby stuck with me," she explained. "But we struggled. We barely had an income and we were staying in run down motel rooms, it was no good. I couldn't find out guys in that state, so I needed leverage. I found Owen and well… I got sucked it."

Brian stepped closer to stand beside her bed. "Why didn't you just leave?"

"I wanted to," she admitted. "But then I grew angry. I was angry at Dom for leaving me in DR, I came to realise that I wouldn't be there if he'd just stuck with me like he promised. I kept tabs on you guys for a while. I heard what happened with Vince and… Elena."

"You know about Elena?" Dom whispered.

"I was pissed," she sighed. "Then I remembered that you thought I was dead, had been for a while. I knew then that it was too late to come home."

"Why did you shoot me?"

"I was meant to aim for your heart or your head." She smiled a little, the first one they'd seen. "We knew you were here, we weren't stupid. Owen worked out quickly that I wasn't who I said I was, that I knew you guys. After a while he noticed how you wouldn't leave me alone… He asked me if I could handle it."

"And you could," Dom sighed, sinking in his chair.

"No, I shot you in the arm so you'd live. I couldn't do it, no matter what had happened." She let out a shaky breath. "I had to show him that _I_ could get rid of you guys, make you step back. Because if I didn't he would have shot you."

"Will you come home with us?"

Everyone glanced over at Mia who quickly put a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and her own outburst. Letty looked down, suddenly sinking back into herself. All eyes were on her, watching her carefully.

"I don't know, Mia," she said honestly. "Things have changed. Just because I couldn't kill you doesn't mean I trust you guys."

"Let, we're family," Mia whispered sadly.

"That makes no difference," Letty muttered. "I don't think things will ever be the same."

Suddenly Elise stirred from her spot on Gisele's lap. She looked around sleepily. She spotted Brian first and started to reach for him. He smiled at how happy she sounded, unaware of everything going on. He reached out and picked her up before she became fussy.

"Is that…?"

"Her name's Elise," Brian told Letty. "She's almost two."

"Oh," Letty breathed out. "She looks like you, Mi."

"Yeah, she's sneaky like Brian though," Mia joked.

Elise watched Letty carefully as if trying to work her out. Brian gave Elise a reassuring smile as he took her closer to Letty. She eventually reached out and touched Letty's cheek softly. Brian held on tightly so she wouldn't topple out of his arms.

"Can I…?"

"Let, you don't have to ask," Brian chuckled.

A smile spread across her face as she reached out and took Elise. The little girl sat happily on Letty's lap. She put one arm around Elise and the other in her lap. Elise played with the free hand and spoke to herself in gibberish.

"Mia, Elise and I were going back to LA," Brian told Letty. "I have a sister I need to see again. Maybe you and Dom should come with us. We could at least try to work things out, see how it goes."

"Take it one step at a time?" Letty whispered.

"Exactly," Brian nodded. "We've all had family ripped from us, and I'd really like to change that."

Letty stayed silent as she watched Elise. Brian hoped and prayed she'd take the offer, he really did want to sort things out, he just hoped that this time it would be for good and not just temporary like all the times before.

* * *

_R&R_


	18. Aged 38

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 38**

Brian and Mia had gone back to LA a week after telling Letty in the hospital room. He almost chickened out until Mia dragged him to Katie's house and knocked on the door herself. He didn't know what he expected. Maybe shouting, getting punched or even kicked. But he didn't expect Katie to throw her arms around him and start crying, sobbing about how worried she'd been.

Things went slowly at first. Brian told Katie everything and Katie told Brian everything. Mia stayed out of the way with Elise 'til Brian and Katie became somewhat comfortable with each other. It took them a good couple of months to get into a routine and when they did Katie was more than happy to hear about Mia and Elise, she even made up lost time by having them move in with her and her friend Sophia from work until they could find a place of their own.

Dom and Letty showed up not long after that. They looked uncomfortable but not totally upset about being thrown together. Letty and Dom got a room each in one of the hotels, too afraid to go and even see the old Toretto house. They barely spoke but after two years of travelling around LA things got better. Brian and Katie's relationship was stronger than ever, Dom and Letty were taking things slow with dates here and there and Brian had the perfect family life.

"I'm glad you convinced me to live here again," Mia told Brian as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I would have gotten you your old house," he told her. "It's still vacant after all this time but I figured you wouldn't want it."

"If anyone should have it it's Dom and Letty." She smiled at the idea of them again. They were only going on dates but it was like when they were kids again. They were dancing around each other, neither wanting to be the first to make the first move. "Eventually they'll work things out properly and they'll need it."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It makes sense."

"Plus, it should still be in Dom's name," Mia explained. "Even if the cops took it, once they released it it should go back to him."

"What about you?"

"Dad left it to Dom because he was older, closer to eighteen than I was," she sighed. "It was like he knew he was going to die soon. Like he knew they'd try to take it from us because I wasn't old enough to claim it… So he gave it to Dom and when Dom dies I get it."

"Well, we have this place now," Brian whispered. "And I think it's impossible to kill Dom."

She chuckled slightly at that. The door knocked suddenly just as they heard the bed creak in Elise's room. Brian moved to get Elise while Mia went to get the door.

Brian entered the room to see the little girl yawning. He had trouble believing she was four. She was smart and so much wiser than her age. He figured that came from Mia and Katie. The other two girls he knew were like that. The little girl stretched and crawled out of bed. Her hair fell in light brown curls, it had been blonde when she first got hair then slowly got darker, he had a feeling it would eventually turn to Mia's colour. Her eyes were a bright blue colour and a light layer of freckles covered her tanned skin face.

Her eyes finally found Brian and she ran towards him. He leaned down and scooped her up. He threw her up into the air and caught her again causing her to let out a giggle. When he held her to his chest she kissed his nose then he kissed hers.

"Morning," she said happily.

"Morning, baby."

"Mummy?"

"She's awake," Brian nodded. "Why don't we go and find her?"

She gave an eager nod. He let her down gently and Elise quickly grabbed his hand before leading him from her room. She walked quietly all over the little apartment, coming up empty wherever she went. For a moment she stood still trying to think, Brian watched her with amusement as she tried to work it out. Eventually Elise grinned and ran towards the patio door, dragging Brian with her.

He didn't stop her, only followed along behind her. The little girl rushed out of the already open patio door and made her way over to the sitting area. When she saw Mia she ran to her. Mia scooped down and picked her up, that's when Brian spotted Katie sitting with Mia. The younger O'Conner got up and went to him. He put an arm around her shoulder once she was close enough.

"I'm kind of happy all that shit happened," Katie confessed.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because if you didn't do that job in LA you'd never have met Mia," Katie explained. "And if you didn't leave for that other case you'd never have made it up to her. And I get the feeling that if you didn't break Dom out you would have lost her all together."

"I'm glad you like Mia."

"I love her," Katie nodded. "We're already picking out bridesmaid dresses for me."

"Ah, yes, I told her I'm going to convert her to an O'Conner."

"You'll have no trouble."

"I hope not," he admitted. "This is a fresh start."

"Best fresh start we've ever had," Katie laughed. "I have my brother back and a sister and niece to go with it."

"She takes after the two of you," Brian told her. "I have a feeling I'm going to lose in a lot of debates."

"Hell yeah," Katie cheered. "Girls are gonna win every time."

* * *

Katie stayed in LA and got more recognition for her art. Her roommate moved out and it seemed to be just in time. Not long after Katie finally met someone. Twenty-five or not, Brian went into big brother overload. He went straight round and met the guy, questioning him as much as possible. When he found out they were moving in together he went back round there and interrogated him again.

"Brian, he's been here for three weeks already," Katie argued. "Back off."

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "You weren't interested in guys when I was still around you. I never got to do this. It's like seeing you date for the first time."

"I'm twenty-five, Brian, I've got this."

"Ok," he laughed. "But I'm not sorry for any of it. It's my job."

"I'll get angry at you later," she sighed. "Sit and tell me why you're here."

"Fancy coming to a wedding?"

She let out a gasp and quickly hugged him. "You're getting married?"

"Six months from now," he nodded. "Small occasion, just family. But I guess Rick can come."

"Is Rome, Tej, Han and Gisele coming for it?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Rome's my best man. You, Letty and Gisele are bridesmaids and Elise is our little flower girl."

"You doing anything after?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "Mia would kill me if we didn't have a party. Everyone is invited to that. Past friends and new friends."

"Better be careful about those seating arrangements," Katie sighed. "I don't want to upset Mia but Dom and Letty have 'just been dating' for a while now. I'm convinced they're never going to get back together. I know I didn't know them but-" She was cut off by the huge grin on Brian's face. "You've got something else to tell me, don't you?"

"We walked in on Dom and Letty arguing," Brian explained. "Mia went to shout at them, to make them stop yelling at each other but then suddenly they were all over each other. We had to leave before Elise saw something that definitely wasn't suitable for her age."

"Wow."

"Yeah, that's Letty and Dom though," he chuckled. "Both too stubborn for each other. After a while they just explode and become inseparable."

"There's a lot I need to learn about this group." She sat up straighter and crossed her legs. "That's it. You need to sit here right now and give me the run down on everyone, even Rome. I need to know everything before this wedding.

* * *

Six months passed and the wedding arrived. It was only a small occasion like Brian had said. A typical church wedding with the vows, prayers and everything else. After the service they all moved to the hall that had been booked for the reception. The wedding passed quickly giving the team a good hour or two before guests started to arrive. Han, Gisele, Tej and Rome worked as a team to play with Elise, chasing her around the hall and playing with the balloons. Katie rolled her eyes as Brian and Mia left to check out their hotel room first.

"Can I join you?" Katie asked nervously as she went over to Dom and Letty.

Dom nodded and used his foot to push the chair out. "You're family now, no need to ask."

"Family," she laughed as she sat down with them. "Never had one of those."

"What about Brian?" Letty asked.

"Well, yeah of course Brian," she nodded. "I don't remember Mum and Dad properly. He never cared and well she stopped."

"Well you've got a big family now," Letty grinned.

Dom nudged her softly. "And you're not getting rid of this one.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_So the next chapter is the last one, just a small warning. Also, it's short but think of it as an epilogue of sorts if you want :)_

_R&R_


	19. Aged 41

**The Life and Times of Brian O'Conner  
Aged 41**

"Come on, up you get." Brian waited for Elise to climb onto the one of the kitchen chairs. Once she was he set her homework in front of her and sat beside her. "Homework first then we'll play."

"I don't want to." She pouted and grumpily leaned her head in her hand, causing her cheek to puff out.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"I can't do it," she said sadly. "It's hard."

"Well let's see what we have." He hated to think that his six year old was upset because she couldn't do something but he smiled when he saw it was math and history that she had to do. He remembered the one and only time he asked his dad to help him. "Why don't we do it together?"

Elise sat up a little straighter at that. She reached out and grabbed the pencil before flicking to the first page of her first homework booklet. Brian had never been terrible at math so he was thankful it started with that. He explained each question and if she still didn't get it he explained further. When they got to history he learned a whole bunch with her. He'd never paid much attention to it as a kid, now he was happy to learn.

After their little homework session he let her go and play in her room while he tidied away. A good hour later Mia came home with Katie, both of them having finished work. Katie had gotten Mia a job while she toyed with her old idea of being a nurse again.

"We have guests," Mia announced as she went straight to get some orange juice.

"Yeah, it's going to be a full house," Katie laughed. "But don't worry. I'm going home after I have a cup of coffee. Rick will be waiting for me."

Brian went to speak but Elise came into the room, running straight to Mia and Katie. Then Dom and Letty came in and he just didn't bother trying to speak.

"Vince!" Elise screamed.

Brian chuckled as the little boy nervously looked out from behind Letty's leg. He was a little over one and a half now. He was the complete opposite to the Vince Brian knew but he got the scruffy thing down well. When he spotted Elise a smile appeared on his face and he allowed her to drag him away to play.

"I have a feeling we would have been like that if things had been different," Katie whispered to Brian.

"I'd like to think so," Brian agreed.

"I'm just glad they get on," Mia said as she stepped closer. Hands on her small bump. "The bigger Vince got into fights easily, I don't need that when this one comes along."

Brian wrapped an arm around her and let his hand rest on the bump. Five months. They hadn't planned it at all and didn't even realise 'til she hit the three month mark, her body had hid it well. They had been unsure at first but quickly dismissed those bad thoughts and focused on the new addition to the family.

Brian moved them to the living room and sat down, bringing Mia down to sit beside him. He drummed his fingers on the little bump in a nice gentle rhythm. Mia leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a little yawn before drifting off to sleep. As she did Brian kept up the rhythm and watched the others.

Katie settled for a moment, talking with Dom and Letty. He guessed it would be about her up and coming wedding. She was going to wait 'til after the birth so the whole family could be there properly with no worries. He could hear Letty get more involved in ideas than he ever expected and was witness to more than a couple of eye rolls from Dom.

His eyes then drifted to the kids. Vince was nervously pushing a car around and making little noises. Every so often the little boy would reach up and run a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. Brian chuckled a little at that before his eyes fell on Elise. She was happily colouring in her book. She looked up suddenly and waved at him before turning back to what she was doing.

He smiled happily to himself as he closed his eyes and relaxed. Brian O'Conner finally had the life he wished he had when he was a little boy.

**The End.**

* * *

_R&R_


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